\ 





I 



THE 

CLOCK OF THE PASSION 



WITH OONSIDEEATIONS O^T THE PASSION". 



IBASSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN OF ST. ALPH0NSD8 LIGUORI, Bt 

A CATHOLIC CLERGYMAN. 

to WHICH 18 ADDED THE "STATIONS OF THE CROSS," THB 
"STATIONS OF THE PASSICN," AS THEY ARB 
PERFORMED IN JERUSALEM, AC. 



NEW YORK: 
D. Sc J. SADLIER & CO., 81 BARCLAY STREET. 

ai(»ITBBAL: 0:R. of NOTKE dame and ST. FEANCIS XAVIKB VOk 



Gift 



No 

a 

CONTENTS. 

PAOB, 

Cloc-k of the Passion 7 

Considerations on the Passion IT 

Chaplet of the Seven Dolours Ill 

One Hour's Peayeb IN THE Year 118 

The Hour and Half-Hour of Prayer on Goo© 

Friday and other Fridays lliJ 

Short Prayer to the Most Holy Virgin in her 

Desolation 120 

The Holy "Way OF THE Cross 121 

Stations of the Cross 155 

Motives to induce us to Meditate on the Pas- 
sion lOT 

A Prayer to Jesus Crucified 208 

Litany of the Passion 206 

Miserere 213 

A Prayer to be said before a Crucifix 211 



6 CONTENTS. 

TuE Plaint of the Blessed Virgin 216 

Prayers of St. Bridget ov the Passion of our 

Lord 218 

The Stations for Visiting the Churches on 

Holy Thursday 232 

A Twofold Rosary of our Lord 231 

Seven Thanksgivings in relation to the sevi;'« 

Blood-Sheddings of Jesus Christ 244 

P£ATKE8 ON THB FiVE WoUNDS OF OuB LOSD . . 



§Ugl $t tilt ^gU&Uu 

OP 

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 



At six o'clock in the evening. Jesus 
enters into the Cenacle, to make there 
the Pasch and to wash the feet of his 
apostles, and even of Judas. 

Aspiration. 

I adore thee, my divine Jesus! in 
this profound humility. Grant me the 
grace of abasing myself beneath all 
creatures, and purify my soul from all 
the stains of sin. We adore thee, 
Jesus, because thou hast redeemed us by 
thy holy cross. 

At seven o'clock. Jesus Christ insti- 
tutes the holy sacraments, and predicts 
to his apostles that one of them would 
betray him. 

^ (7) 



8 THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 

Aspiration. 

I tliauk thee, my God, for the insti- 
tution of the holy sacrament, and for the 
gift that thou then madest us of thy pre- 
cious body and blood. Never permit me, 
I conjure thee, to receive thee unwor- 
thily. We adore, &c. 

At eight o^clock. Jesus passes the 
torrent of Cedron to go to the Garden of 
Olives, followed by his three disciples. 

Aspiratio7i. 

Grant me the grace, my divine Saviour, 
that the three powers of my soul may be 
always so occupied with thee, that pass- 
ing the torrent of this life, I may never 
abandon myself to that of my passions. 
We adore, &c. 

At nine o'clock. Jesus prays to his 
heavenly Father, and goes to visit his 
disciples ; he finds them asleep, and he 
admonishes them to watch and to pray. 

Aspiration. 

my God! draw my soul from this 
mortal lethargy in the way of salvation 



THE CLOCK OP THE PASSION. 9 

and grant me, by the merits of thy prayer 
in the Garden of Olives, the true gift of 
prayer. We adore, &c. 

At ten o'clock. Jesus is consoled by 
an angel, and begins to sweat blood. 

Aspiration. 

my divine Jesus! I renounce with 
all my heart all natural and human con- 
solations ; make thy precious blood flow 
upon my soul, to purify and to sanctify it. 
We adore, &c. 

At eleven o'clock. Jesus goes to meet 
his enemies. Judas betrays him with a 
kiss. 

Aspiration. 

1 adore you, my divine Master ! I have 
a horror of the treason of your disciple. 
Never permit me to imitate him by re- 
ceiving thee unworthily in the holy com- 
munion. We adore, &c. 

At midnight. Jesus is taken, bound 
and tied with cords, by the Jews, who 
outraged him, conducting him with many 
indignities to Jerusalem. 



10 THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 



Asjpiration. 

Deliver me, sweet Jesus ! from the 
bonds of the servitude of sin, which is 
thy enemy and mine, and attach me in- 
separably to thee. We adore, &c. 

At one o'clock. Jesus is conducted to 
the house of Annas, and from there to 
the house of C alphas, accused by false 
witnesses. 

Aspiration. 

I beg of thee the grace, my divine 
Jesus, to profit so well by the holy exam- 
ple, that I may suffer willingly all the ac- 
cusations that can be formed against me, 
without offering any excuse. We adore, 
&c. 

At two o'clock. Jesus is denied three 
times by St. Peter, and the cock crew ; 
and Jesus having looked at him, made 
him sensible of his fault. 

Aspiration. 

Cast upon me, my divine Jesus, a 
look so favorable that it may penetrate 
my heart with a lively contrition for my 



THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 11 

sins, and grant me the grace that having 
imitated St. Peter in his infidelity, I may 
imitate him in his penitence. We adore, 
&c. 

At three o^clock. The Jews blind- 
folded the eyes of Jesus, and striking 
him, ask him to guess who had struck 
him. 

Aspiration. 

Adorable Jesus! close my eyes and 
my heart to all the objects of the earth, 
in order that, being open but to thy suf- 
ferings and humiliations, I may unite 
myself to them with all my heart. We 
adore, &c. 

At four o^clock. Jesus is sent bound 
to Pilate, who interrogates him on his 
royalty ; Jesus answers him that his king- 
dom is not of this world. 

Aspiration. 

I acknowledge thee, my God, for the 
King of my heart : banish from it thy 
enemies, in order that I may merit that at 
the hour of my death thou mayst acknowl- 
edge me for thy child. We adore, &q. 



12 THE CLOCK or THE PASSION. 



At five o'clock. Pilate sends Jesus to 
Herod, who clothes him with a white gar- 
ment in derision. 

Aspiration. 

Grant me, amiable Saviour, this holy 
folly, in which consists all true wisdom. 
We adore, &c. 

At six oVlock. Jesus is compared to 
Barabbas. 

Aspiratioii, 

my adorable Saviour ! it is to cur« 
ray pride and my ambition that thou hai^t 
willed to be compared to a thief and a 
murderer. My pride will be extreme if 
thy humility destroy it not. We adore, &c. 

At seven o'clock. Jesus is fastened t> 
the pillar and cruelly scourged. 

Aspiration. 

Pardon me. Lord, my too great sensf 
bility and delicacy, and by the precious 
blood that thou hast shed in thy flagella- 
tion, purify my soul from all the stains of 
gin. We adore, &c. 



THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 13 



At eight o'clock. Jesus is crowned 
with thorns, and they put a reed in his 
hand in derision. 

Aspiration. 

They are my sins of thought, my 
divine Saviour, which have forced intO' 
thy sacred head this cruel crown of 
thorns I transpierce my heart with them^ 
I conjure thee, and destroy my pride by 
thy humiliations. We adore, &c. 

At nine o'clock. Pilate presents Jesus 
to the people, saying to them, Behold the- 
man. 

Aspiration. 

Oh, how much has it cost thee, my 
divine Jesus, to be made man ! However 
disfigured thou art by my sins, I adore 
thee and acknowledge thee for my Lord 
and my God. We adore, &c. 

At ten o'clock. Jesus is condemned to 
death. 

Aspiration. 

my Saviour I you have suffered your- 
self to be condemned to death to give me 



14 THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 

the life of grace ; grant me, I beseech 
thee, so to profit by it, that I may not 
have the misfortune of being condemned 
by thee at the hour of my death. Wo 
adore, &c. 

At eleven O'clock. Jesus is charged 
with his cross, and carries it to Calvary. 

Aspiration. 

Oh ! how the weight of my sins oppres- 
ses thee, my adorable Saviour! pardon 
me them, I conjure thee, by this heavy 
Cross which thou hast carried to Calvary, 
and grant me by it the grace to bear 
patiently all those that thou shalt please 
to send me. We adore, &c. 

At twelve o'clock. Jesus is fastened 
to the cross between two thieves. 

Aspiration. 

I adore thee, my Saviour Jesua 
Christ crucified ! I beo; of thee, verv 
humbly, the pardon of all my sins ; I 
give thee my heart ; fasten it to thy 
Cross, I beseech thee, with the three di- 



THE CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 15 

vine virtues of faith, hope and charity. 
We adore, &c. 

At one o^clock. Jesus converts the 
good thief and prays for his enemies. 

Aspiration. 

Remember me, my divine Saviour, now 
that thou art in thy kingdom, and par- 
don me my sins, since for the love of thee 
I pardon, from my heart, all persons who 
may have offended me. We adore, &c. 

At two o^clock. Jesus exclaims, I 
thirst, and recommends his holy Mother 
to his well-beloved disciple. 

Asjoiration. 

I thirst after thee, adorable Jesus, 
refresh my languishing soul, which de- 
sires but thee, and give me, I conjure 
thee, to thy holy Mother. We adore, &c. 

At three o'clock. Jesus expires upon 
the Cross, after having said, " All is con- 
summated." 

Aspiration. 

Grant me the grace, my divine Sa- 
viour, by this last sigh, which terminated 



16 



THK CLOCK OF THE PASSION. 



the Tvork of our redemption, in termi 
nating thy life, that the last of mine may 
be united to it, and may I be so happy 
as to render it into your heart. We 
adore, &c. 

At four o^clock. Jesus has his side 
pierced with a lance ; there flowed from 
it blood and water. 

Aspiration. 

Precious blood of my Sayiour, sanctify 
me ; sacred water which flowed from his 
side, wash and purify my soul from all 
sin. We adore, &c. 

At five o'clock. Jesus is token down 
from the Cross and put into the arms of 
his Holy Mother. 

Aspiration. 

holy Virgin ! by this sword of sor- 
row which transpierced your sacred heart, 
imprint in mine all the sufferings of your 
divine Son ; make me feel them so sen- 
sibly in this life, that they may be for 
me a source of glory in the next. We 
adore, &q. 



CONSIDERATIONS 

ON THE 

fASSIOK OF JESUS CHRIST, 

DESCRIBED IN SlilPLE LANGUAGE, ACCORDING TO THl 
NARRATION OF THE HOLY EYANGELISTS. 



INTRODUCTION 

St. Augustine says, that there is noth- 
ing more condusive to the attainment of 
eternal salvation, than to think every day 
on the pains vrhich Jesus Christ has suf- 
fered for the love of us. " Nothing is 
more salutary than to think daily on what 
the Man- God has endured for us.'^ And 
before him, Origen said, that sin f^annot 
reign in the soul that frequently medi- 
tates on the death of the Saviour. " It 
is certain that, when the death of Christ 
is carried about in the soul, sin cannot 
reign in it.'' Besides, our Lord jeveal- 
ed to a holy solitary, that ther?^ i^* no 
2 (IV) 



18 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

exercise better calculated to kindle in 
the heart the fire of divine love, than 
the meditation of his passion. Hence, 
Father Balthazzar Alverez used to say, 
that ignorance of the treasures we have 
in the passion of Jesus Christ, is the ruin 
of Christians. Hence, he would tell his 
penitents, that they should not consider 
themselves to have done anything until 
they had succeeded in always keeping in 
the heart Jesus crucified. According to 
St. Bonaventure, the wounds of Jesus are 
wounds which soften the hardest hearts, 
and inflame the most frozen souls. vul- 
nera," exclaimed the saint, " corda saxea 
vulnerantia, et mentes congelatas inflam- 
mantia.'^ 

Hence the learned author writes ((7m- 
set sopi\ le dom. torn. 3) that there is 
nothing which unfolds to us the treasures 
contained in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, 
better than the simple history of his pas- 
sion. To inflame a faithful soul with di- 
vine love, it is enough to reflect on the 
narration which the holy Exangelists have 
given of the sorrows of the Redeemer, 
ani to view with the eyes of a Christian 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 19 

all that the Saviour has suflered in the 
three principal theatres of his passion: 
that is, in the garden of Olives, in the 
city of Jerusalem, and on Mount Calvary. 
The contemplations which devout authors 
have made and written on the passion, 
are useful and beautiful ; but certainly a 
single word from the sacred Scriptures 
makes a greater impression on a Chris- 
tian than a hundred and a thousand con- 
templations and revelations ascribed to 
certain holy souls ; for the Scripture as- 
sures us, that whatever they attest is cer- 
tain with the certainty of divine faith. 
Hence I have resolved, for the benefit 
and consolation of souls enamoured to 
Jesus Christ, to arrange in order, and 
to relate in simple language (adding a 
few brief reflections and affections) what 
the holy Evangelists say of the passion 
of Jesus Christ. They supply abundant 
matter for the meditations of a hundred 
and a thousand years, and at the same 
time the most powerful motives to in- ' 
flame us with holy charity towards our 
most loving Redeemer. 

God, how is it possible for a soul 



20 



CONSIDERATIONS ON fHB 



that has faith, and reflects on the sorrows 

and ignominies which Jesus Christ has 
suffered for us, not to buin with love for 
him, and not to conceive strong resolu- 
tions to become a saint, in order not to 
be ungrateful to so loving a God ? Faith 
is necessary ; for had not faith assured 
us of it, who could ever believe what a 
God has actually done for the love of us? 
" He emptied himself, taking the form of 
a servant^^ — Phil. ii. 7. Who, had he not 
the infallible assurance of faith, could, at 
the sight of Jesus, born in a stable, be- 
lieve that he is the God who is adored by 
the angels in heaven ? How, without the 
aid of faith, can he who beholds the Sa- 
viour flying into Egypt, in order to es- 
cape from the hands of Herod, believe 
that he is omnipotent ? How could we, 
without the assurance of faith, believe 
that he whom we see sorrowful unto 
death in the garden, is infinitely happy ? 
or that he who was bound to a pillar, and 
suspended on a gibbet, is the Lord of the 
universe ? 

How great should be our astonishment 
if we saw a king become a worm, crawl- 



TASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 21 

ing along the earth, living in a filthy 
hole, and thence making laws, appointing 
ministers, and governing his kingdom? 
holy faith, unfold to us who Jesus 
Christ is, who this man is, who appears 
as insignificant as the rest of men. " The 
Word was made flesh " — John i. 14. St. 
John assures us that he is the eternal 
Word, the only-begotten of God. And 
what sort of life has this Man- God led on 
earth ? Behold it described by the pro- 
phet Isaias : ^' And we have seen him . . . 
despised and most abject of men, a man 
of sorrows — Isaias liii. 2, 3. He wished 
to be a man of sorrows, that is, he wished 
to be afflicted with all sorrows, and not 
to be for a 'moment free from pain. He 
was a man of sorrows and loaded with 
insults : Despised and the most abject of 
menJ^ Yes, for Jesus was the most in- 
sulted and maltreated of all mortals, as if 
he had been the last and most contemp- 
tible of men. A God bound as a male- 
factor by the officers of justice ! A God 
scourged as a slave ! A God treated as 
a mock king ! A God dying on an infa- 
mous gibbet I How great the impressios 



22 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



which these prodigies should make on him 
who believes them? How great the 
desire which they should infuse of suffer- 
ing for Jesus Christ? St. Francis de 
Sales has said : " All the wounds of the 
Redeemer are, as it were, so many mouths 
which teach us how we ought to suffer for 
him. The science of the saints consists 
in constantly suffering for Jesus ; by con- 
stantly suffering for him, we shall soon 
become saints. How ardent the love with 
which we shall be inflamed at the sight of 
the flames which are found in the bosom 
of the Redeemer ? Oh ! what a happiness 
to burn with the same fire with which our 
God burns ? How delightful to be united 
to God with the chains of love 

But why do so many Christians behold 
with indifference Jesus on the cross? 
During -the holy week they assist at the 
celebration of his death, but without sen- 
timents of tenderness or gratitude, and as 
if they commemorated an event which 
never happened, or which does not con- 
cern them. Perhaps they neither know 
nor believe what the Gospels relate of 
the passion of Jesus Christ? I answei 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 23 

and say, that they know it and believe it, 
but they do not reflect on it. Ah ! for 
them who believe and reflect on the 
passion of the Redeemer, it is impossi- 
hle not to burn with love for a God who 
suffers such torments, and dies for the 
love of them. " The charity of Christ 
presseth us — 2 Cor. v. 14. The apostle 
meant to say, that in thinking on the 
passion of our Lord, we should consider 
not so much the sorrows and insults 
which he suffered, as the love with which 
he bore them ; for Jesus Christ wished to 
submit to such torments, not only to save 
us (since for our salvation a single peti- 
tion offered by him to his Father would 
be sufificient), but also to make us under- 
stand the affection which he entertained 
for us, and thus gain our hearts. Ah ! a 
soul that thinks on this love of Jesus 
Christ cannot but love him. " The charity 
of Christ presseth us.^^ She will feel her- 
self bound and constrained, as it were by 
force, to consecrate all her affections -to 
him. Hence Jesus Christ has died for us 
all, that we may live no longer to our- 
selves, but to this most loving Redeemer, 



24 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

who has sacrificed his divine life for oui 
salvation. 

happy you, loving souls, who fre- 
quently meditate on the passion of Jesus ! 
" You shall," says Isaias, " draw waters 
with joy out of the Saviour's fountains " — 
Isa. xii. 3. From the blessed fountains 
of the wounds of the Saviour you shall 
continually draw waters of love and con- 
fidence. And how can even the greatest 
sinner (if he repent of his sins) ever des- 
pair of the divine mercy at the sight of 
Jesus crucified, when he knows that the 
eternal Father has placed on his beloved 
Son all our sins, that he might atone for 
them ? " And the Lord hath laid on him 
the iniquities of us all" — Isa. liii. 6. 
How, says St. Paul, can we be afraid that 
God will refuse us any grace after having 
given us his own Son ? " He that spareth 
not even his own Son, but delivered him 
up for us all, how hath he not also with 
him given us all things " — Rom, viii. 32. 



PASSIOI^ OF JESUS CHRIST. 25 



SECTIOlSr 1. 

JESTJS ENTERS JERUSALEM. 

" Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek 
and sitting on an ass, and a colt, the foal 
of her that is used to the yoke^' — Mat. 
xxi. 5. Our Redeemer, at the approach 
of the time of his passion, sets out from 
Bethania for Jerusalem. Let us here con- 
sider the humility of Jesus Christ, who is 
the King of Heaven, in condescending to 
enter that city sitting on an ass. Je- 
rusalem, behold thy king comes to thee in 
humility and meekness. Be not afraid 
that he comes to rule over thee and to 
take possession of thy riches ; for he 
comes all love and mercy to save thee, 
and to purchase life for thee by his own 
death. The people who, for some time 
entertained a veneration for him on ac- 
count of his miracles, and particularly of 
the last which he wrought, in raising 
Lazarus from the dead, go out to meet 
him. Some strewed their garments on 
the way before him, others spread out 
branches of trees to do him honour. Oh ! 



26 CONSIDERATIOXS ON THE 



who would have ever imagined tliat that 
Lord, who was received with so many 
honours, should have to appear in a few 
days with a cross on his shoulders, as 
a criminal condemned to death. 

Didst thou then, my dear Jesus, wish to 
make this glorious entry, that the greater 
the honour with which thou wast received, 
the more ignominious might be thy pas- 
sion and death ? The praises which this 
ungrateful city now gives thee will be 
changed into insults and maledictions. 
They now say : " Hosanna to the Son of 
David ; blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord^' — Mat. xxi. 9. Glory 
to thee, Son of David ; be for ever 
blessed, since thou comest for our welfare 
in the name of the Lord. And afterwards 
they will raise their voice and exclaim : 
" Away with him, away with him, crucify 
him, crucify him.'' Pilate, (they will say,) 
take away this miscreant from before our 
eyes ; crucify him, and do not leave him 
any longer in om^ view. Now they spread 
their garments before thee, and they will 
afterwards strip thee of thy clothes in 
order to scourge and crucify thee. They 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 2? 



now take branches of palm to spread 
them under thy feet, and afterwards they 
will take branches of thorns to pierce thy 
head. Now they pour so many benedic- 
tions upon thee, and afterwards they will 
load thee with contumely and blasphe- 
mies. Go then, my soul, and say to him 
with love and gratitude : " Blessed is he 
that Cometh in the name of the Lord." 
My beloved Redeemer, be for ever bless- 
ed, since thou art come to save us ; if 
thou had not come, we should be all lost. 

" And when he drew near the city, he 
wept over it" — Luke xix. 41. When Je- 
sus approached the unhappy city of Jeru- 
salem, he looked at it, and wept over its 
ingratitude and destruction. Ah, my 
Lord, in weeping over the ingratitude 
of Jerusalem, thou didst also weep over 
my ingratitude and the destruction of my 
soul. My beloved Redeemer, thou didst 
weep at the sight of the injury I have 
done myself in banishing thee from my 
soul, and in constraining thee to condemn 
me to hell after thou hadst died for my 
salvation. Ah, leave weeping to me, for 
I alone should weep at the thought oi* the 



28 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



injury I have offered to thee, in offending 

tliee and separating myself from thee 
after thou hadst loved me so tenderly. 
Eternal Father, for the sake of the tears 
w^hich thy Son then shed over me, give 
me sorrow for my sins. And thou, lov- 
mg and tender heart of my Jesus, have 
Qiercy on me, for I detest above all things 
the offences I have given thee, and I re- 
jolve to love nothing but thee. 

After his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus 
jabored the entire day in preaching and 
curing the sick ; but in the evening there 
was no one to invite him to sleep in his 
house ; and therefore he was obliged to 
return to Bethania. My sweet Lord, if 
others banish thee, I will not banish thee. 
There was once an unhappy time when I 
uns^rateiullv banished thee from mv soul ; 
but now I set a greater value on being 
united with thee, than on the possession 
of all the kiagdoii^s of the earth. Ah my 
God, who shall he able ever again to sep- 
arate me from i\y ^ove ? 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 29 



SECTION n. 

THE COrNCIL OF THE JEWS, AND THE TRECAH- 
ERY OF JUDAS. 

'•The chief priests, therefore, and tho 
pharisees gathered a council, and said : 
What do we, for this man doeth many 
miracles ? " — John x. 47. Behold how, at 
the very time that Jesus Christ was em- 
ployed in working miracles for the bene- 
fit of all, the first personages of the city 
assembled to plan the death of the author 
of life. Behold what the impious C alphas 
said : " It is expedient for you that one 
man should die for the people, and that 
the whole nation perish not.'' — John xi. 
50. From that day, says St. John, they 
sought a means of putting Jesus to death. 
Ah, Jews, fear not ; this your Eedeemer 
does not fly away ; no, he has come on 
earth to die, and by his death to deliver 
you and all men from eternal death ! 

But behold, Judas presents himself to 
the high priests, and says : " What will 
you give me, and I will deliver him unto 
you!"— Mat. xxvi. 15. Oh, how g:^al 



80 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

was the joy with which tlie Jews exulted, 
through the hatred they bore to Jesua 
Christ, when they saw that one of his own 
disciples offered to betray him, and to de 
liver him into their hands ! Let us here 
consider the exultation of hell when a soul 
that has served Jesus Christ for several 
years, betrays him for a miserable good, 
or a vile pleasure. But, Judas, since 
you wish to sell your God, at least de- 
mand the price which he is worth. He 
is an infinite good, and is therefore worth 
an infinite price. But, God ! you con- 
clude the sale for thirty pieces of silver. 
" But they appointed him thirty pieces of 
silver " — ih. Ah my unhappy soul, leave 
Judas, and turn thy thoughts on thyself. 
Tell me for what price hast thou so often 
sold the grace of God to the devil ? Ah 
my Jesus, I am ashamed to appear before 
thee, when I think of the injuries I have 
done thee. How often have I turned 
my back upon thee, and preferred before 
thee, some temporal interest, the indul- 
gence of caprice, or a momentary and vile 
pleasure ? I knew that by such a sin I 
Bliould lose tby friendship, and I have vol« 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. ^ 31 

untarily exchanged it for nothing. Oh 
that I had been dead rather that have 
offered thee so great an outrage! My 
Jesus, I repent with my whole heart, I 
would wish to die of sorrow for it. 

Let us here consider the benignity of 
Jesus Christ, who, though he knew the 
appointment which Judas had made, did 
not banish him from his presence when he 
saw him, nor look at him with an un- 
friendly eye, but admitted him into his 
society, and even to his table, and re- 
minded him of his treachery, for the sole 
purpose of making him enter into himself. 
When he saw him obstinate, he even pros- 
trated himself before him, and washed 
his feet in order to soften his heart. Ah 
my Jesus, I see that thou dost treat me in 
the same manner. I have despised and 
betrayed thee, and thou dost not cast me 
off. Thou dost regard me with love, thou 
dost admit me even to thy table of the 
holy communion. My dear Saviour, oh 
that I had always loved thee ! And how 
shall I be ever again able to depart fronj 
thy feet and renounce thy love ? 



32 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



SECTION ni. 

THE LAST SUPPER OP JESUS WITH HIS DIS- 
CIPLES. 

" Jesus knowing that his hour was come 
to pass out of this world to the Father ; 
having loved his own who were in the 
world, he loved them unto the end'' — 
John xiii. 1. Knowing that the time of his 
death and departure from this world was 
come, and having hitherto loved men even 
to excess, he wished to give them the last 
and the greatest proof of his love. Be- 
hold him seated at table, all on fire with 
charity, turning to his disciples and say- 
iag : With desire I have desired to eat 
this pasch with you '' — Luke xxii. 15. My 
disciples (and he then said the same to us 
all), know that I have desired nothing 
during my whole life but to eat this last 
supper with you ; for after it I shall go 
to sacrifice my life for your salvation. 

Then, my Jesus, dost thou desire so 
ardently to give thy life for us, thy mis- 
erable creatures ? Ah ! this thy desire 
inflames our hearts with a desire to suffer 



PASSION OF JESUS CHBIST. 38 

and die for the love of thee, since thou 
dost condescend to suffer and die for the 
love of us. beloved Eedeemer, make 
known to us what thou wiliest from us : 
we are willing to please thee in all things. 
We sigh to give thee pleasure, to corres- 
pond at least in part to thy great love 
for us. Increase always more and more 
this blessed flame within us : may it make 
us forget the world and ourselves, that 
from this day forward we may think only 
of pleasing thy enamoured heart. 

Behold at table the paschal lamb, the 
figure of our Saviour ; as the former was 
consumed at supper, so on the following 
day the world was to behold on the altar 
of the cross, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of 
God, consumed by torments. 

" He therefore leaning on the breast of 
Jesus" — John xiii. 25. Happy thou 
beloved John, who leaning thy head on 
the bosom of Jesus, didst then understand 
the tenderness of the love of this loving 
Redeemer for the souls that love him I 
Ah my sweet Lord, thou hast frequently 
favoured me with a similar grace. Yes, 
I too have felt the tenderness of- thy af- 
3 



34 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

fection for me, when thou didst console 
me with celestial lights and spiritual 
sweetness ; but after all thy favours, I 
have net been faithful to thee. Ah, do 
not permit me to live any longer ungrate- 
ful to thy goodness. 1 wish to be all 
thine : accept me and assist me. 

"He riseth from supper, and layeth 
aside his garments, and having taken a 
towel girded himself. After that he puV 
teth water into a basin, and began to wash 
the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them 
with the towel wherewith he was girded" 
— John xiii. 4, 5. My soul, behold thy 
Jesus, rising from the table, laying aside 
his garments, takmg a white cloth and 
girding himself with it : he afterwards 
puts water into a basin, kneels down be- 
fore his disciples, and begins to wash 
their feet. Then the sovereign of the 
universe, the only begotten of God, hum- 
bles himself so as to wash the feet of his 
creatures. angels, what do you say ? 
It would have been a great favour if Je- 
sus Christ had permitted them, as he did 
Magdalene, to wash his divine feet with 
their tears. But no ; he wished to plac^- 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 35 

himself at the feet of his servants in order 
to leave us at the end of his life this great 
example of humility, and this proof of the 
grea t love he bears to men. And, Lora, 
shall we be always so proud as not to be 
able to bear a word of contempt, or the 
smallest inattention, without instantly 
feeling resentment, and thinking of seek- 
ing revenge, after we had by our sins de- 
served to be trampled on by the devils it 
hell ? Ah my Jesus, thy example has ren- 
dered humiliations and insults amiable to 
lis. I purpose henceforth to bear evevj 
injury and affront for the love of thee. 



SECTION IV. 

ON THE INSTITUTION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRA- 
mNT. 

"And whilst they were at supper, Je- 
sus took bread and blessed and broke it, 
and gave to his disciples, and said : " Take 
ye and eat, this is my body'^ — Mat. xxvi. 
26. After the washing of the feet, an act 
of humility the practice of which Jesua 
recommended to his disciples, he took hia 



36 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

garments, and sitting down again to ta- 
ble, wished to give men the last proof cf 
the tender love he had for them, and that 
was the institution of the most holy sacra- 
ment of the altar. He took for tliat pur- 
pose bread, consecrated it, broke it, and 
gave it to his disciples, saying : Take and 
^t, this is my body. He then recom- 
/nended them as often as they should com- 
municate, to remember the death which 
he suffered for their sake. "As often as 
you shall eat this bread . . . you shall 
show the death of the Lord'' — 1 Cor. xi. 
26. Jesus Christ did then, what a dying 
prince, who tenderly loved his spouse, 
would do : he selects among all his gems 
and jewels, the most beautiful and costly, 
he then calls his spouse and says to her : 
my dear spouse, I am going to die : 
and that thou mayest not forget me, I 
leave thee this gem as a memorial of^me : 
when thou dost look at it, remember me 
and the love I have borne thee. "Nc 
tongue," says St. Peter of Alcantara, in 
his meditations, " is able to express the 
greatness of the love which Jesus bears 
to eveiy soul. Hence, that his ab- 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 3T 

Bence might not be an occasion of 
forgetting him, he left, before his de- 
parture from this world, to his spouse 
this most holy sacrament, in which he 
himself lemained, wishing that between 
them, there should be no other pledge 
than himself to keep alive the remem- 
brance of him.^' We may then imagine 
how pleasing it is to Jesus Christ that we 
remember his passion, since he has insti- 
tuted the sacrament of the altar, that we 
may preserve a continual remembrance of 
the immense love which he lias shown us 
in his death. 

my Jesus, God enamoured of souls, 
has thy affection for men enraptured thee 
to such a degree as to make thyself their 
food ? Tell me what more remains loz' 
thee to do in order to oblige us to love 
thee? In the holy communion thou 
•^ivest thyself to us entirely and without 
reserve : it is then but just that we give- 
our whole being unreservedly to thee. I 
wish to be all thine, I wish to love no- 
thing but thee, my God. Thou hast said 
that he who eats thy flesh lives only for 
thee. " He that eateth me, the samxe also- 



38 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

shall live by me — John vi. 58. Smce 
then thou hast so often permitted me to 
eat thy flesh, make me die to myself that 
I may live only for thee, only to serve 
thee, and give thee pleasure. My Jesus, 
T wish to fix all my affections in thee : 
assist me to be faithful to thee. 

St. Paul remarks the time in which 
Jesus Christ instituted this great sacra- 
ment, and says : " The Lord Jesus the 
same night in which he was betrayed, 
took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and 
said : " Take ye and eat : this is my body 
— 1 Cor. ii. 23, 24. God, on the very 
night in which men were preparing to put 
him to death, the loving Redeemer pre- 
pared for us this bread of life and of love 
to unite us entirely to himself, as he de- 
clared when he said : ^' He that eateth 
my flesh, abideth in me and I in him." 
love of my soul, worthy of infinite love ! 
Thou canst not give greater proofs of tliy 
affection and tender love for me. Ah, 
draw me entirely to thyself : if L know 
not how to give thee my whole heart, 
take it thou to thyself. Ah my Jesus, when 
shall I be all thine, as thou dost make 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 39 

thyself all mine when I receive thee in 
this sacrament of love? Ah, enlighten 
ma, and unfold to me always more and 
more, thy amiable qualities, which render 
thee so worthy of love, that I may be 
ahvays more and more enamoured of thee, 
and may be wholly employed in pleasing 
thee. I love thee, my sovereign good, 
ray joy, my love, my all. 

SECTION V. 

JESUS PRAYS IN THE GARDEN AND SWEATS 
BLOOD. 

" And a hymn being said, they went out 

unto mount Olivet Then Jesus came 

with them into a country place which is 
called Gethsemani — Mat. xxvi. 30, 36. 
As soon as they had said grace, Jesus 
leaves the supper room with his diaciples, 
goes into the garden of Gethsemani, and 
begins to pray : but alas, at the com- 
mencement of his prayer, he is assailed 
with a great fear, an oppressive tedious- 
ness, and an overwhelming sadness. " He 
began to fear and to be heavy,'^ says St. 
Mark (xiv. 35). St. Matthew adds: 



40 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

^ He l^egan to grow sorrowful and to b6 
5ad^' — xxvi. 37. Hence our Redeemer^ 
overwhelmed with sadness, said that his 
olessed soul was sorrowful even unto 
death, " Tristis est anima mea usque ad 
mortem — Marc. xiv. 34. Then was 
presented before him the melancholy 
scene of all the torments and ignominies 
which were prepared for him. In liis 
passion these afflicted him one by one : 
but in the garden, the buffets, the spittle, 
the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and 
the reproaches which he was to suflFer, 
came all together to torment him. He 
there embraced them all, but in em- 
iDracing them, he trembled, he agonized, 
and he prayed, " and being in an agony 
he prayed the longer — Luke xxii. 43. 

But my Jesus, who compels thee to sub- 
mit to such torments ? The love, he an- 
swers, which I bear to men, constrains me 
to endure them. Ah how great must 
liave been the astonishment of heaven at 
the sight of omnipotence become weak, 
Lif the jov of paradise oppressed with sad- 
ness ! A God afflicted ! And why ? To 
rave men, his own creatures. In the 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 41 

garden lie offered the first sacrifice ■ 
Jesiis was the victim, love was the priest, 
and the ardour of his affection for men 
was tlie blessed fire with which tlte 
sacrifice was consummated. " My Father, 
if it be possible, let this chalice pass from 
me" — Mat. xxvi. 39. Thus Jesus prayed. 
My Father, he says, if it be possible, save 
me from drinking this bitter chalice. But 
he prayed thus not so much to be de- 
livered from the torments he was to en- 
dure, as to make us understand the pain 
which he suffered and embraced for the 
love of us. He prayed thus also, to teacli 
us that in tribulations we may ask God 
to deliver us from them, but that we 
should at the same time conform entirely 
to his divine will, and say with him : 
" Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou 
wilt" — Mat. xxvi. 39. And during the 
whole time of his prayer, he repeated the 
same petition. ^' Thy will be done .... 
and he prayed the third time, saying the 
self-same word" — ib. 42, 44. Yes, my 
Lord, for thy sake, I embrace all the 
crosses which thou wilt send me. Thou, 
an innocent, hast suffered for my eake, 



42 CONSIDERATIONS OM THE 

and shall I a sinner, after having so often 
deserved hell, refuse to suffer in order to 
please thee, and to obtain from thee the 
pardon of my sins, and thy grace ? " Not 
as I will, but as thou wilt : let not my 
will, but thine, be always done/' 

" He fell flat on the ground*' — Mark 
xiv. 35. In his prayer in the garden, 
Jesus fell prostrate on the ground, be- 
cause, seeing himself clothed with the 
sordid garment of all our sins, he felt, as 
it were, ashamed to raise his eyes to hea- 
ven. My dear Eedeemer, I would not 
dare to ask pardon of so m.any insults 
which I have committed against thee, if 
thy suflerings did not give me confidence. 
Eternal Fatlier, look on fJie face of thy 
Christ : look not on my iniquities, be- 
hold this, thy beloved Son, trembling, 
agonizing, and sweating blood in order 
to obtain thy pardon for me. " And his 
sweat became as drops of blood, trickling 
down upon the ground'' — Luke xxii. 44. 
Behold me, and have pity on me. 

But, my Jesus, in this garden there are 
not executioners to scourge thee, nor 
thorns, nor nails to torture thee ; what 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 43 

then extracts so much blood from thee ? 
Ah ! I understand thee ; it was not the 
foresight of thy approaching sufferings 
that tlien afflicted thee so grievously ; 
for to these pains thou didst sponta- 
neously offer thyself. He was offered 
because it was his own will" — Isa. liii. 7. 
It was the sight of my sins ; these were 
the cruel press which forced so much 
blood from thy sacred veins. Hence, it 
was not the executioners, nor the nails, 
nor the thorns, that were cruel and bar- 
barous in thy regard : no, my sins, which 
made thee so sorrowful in the garden, 
have been barbarous and cruel to thee, 
my sweet Redeemer. 

Then, in thy great affliction, I too have 
aSded to thy sorrows, and have grievously 
afflicted thee by the weight of my sins. 
Had I been guilty of fewer sins, thou 
shouldst have suffered less. Behold, then, 
the return I have made for thy love in 
dying for me. I have added to thy great 
sufferings ! My beloved Lord, I repent 
of having offended thee, I am sorry for 
m.y sins, but my sorrow is not great ; I 
would wish for sorrow that would take 



44 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

away my life. Ah ! through the bitter 
agony which thou didst suffer in the gar- 
den, give me a portion of that abhorrence 
which thou didst then feel for my sins. 
And if my ingratitude was then a cause 
of affliction to thee, grant that I may 
now please thee by my love. Yes, my 
Jesus, I love thee with my whole heart. 
I love thee more than myself, and for thy 
love I renounce all the pleasures and 
goods of this earth. Thou alone art, and 
shalt always be my only good and my 
only love. 

SECTION Yl. 

JESUS IS TAKEN AND BOUND. 

Else up, let us go. Behold he that 
will betray me is at hand" — Mark xiv. 
42. Knowing that Judas, along with the 
Jews and soldiers, who came to capture 
him, were at hand, the Redeemer, still 
bathed in the sweat of death, rises with 
a pallid countenance, but with a heart all 
on fire with love, and goes to meet his 
enemies, in order to deliver himself into 
their hands. On seeing them he said 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 45 

" Wliom do you seek ?" Imagine, my 
soul, that Jesus then said to thee : Tell 
me, whom dost thou seek ? Ali ! my 
Lord, and whom will I seek but thee, 
who art come from heaven on earth to 
seek after me, and save me from perdi- 
tion ? 

They "took Jesus and bound him^^ — 
John xviii. 12. Alas, a God bound ! 
What should we say if we saw a king 
taken and bound in chains by his own 
servants ? And wliat do we say now that 
we see a God in the hands of the rabble ? 

blessed cords that bound my Redeemer 
bind me also .to him ; but bind me so tliat 

1 can never more Avithdraw myself from 
his love ; bind my heart to his most holy 
will, so that lienceforth I may wish only 
what he wishes. 

Behold, my soul, how one seizes his 
hands, another binds him, and others 
insult and strike him : the innocent Lamb 
permits them to bind and strike him as 
they please. He makes no effort to escape 
from their hands, he does not call for aid, 
he does not complain of so many injuries, 
nor does he ask why he is so maltreated. 



46 CONSIDERATIONS OX THE 



Behold the prediction of Isaias verified : 
" He was offered because it was his own 
will, and he opened not his mouth : he 
shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter" 
— Isa. liii. 7. He neither speaks nor 
complains ; for he offered himself to the 
divine justice in order to make satisfaction 
and to die for us ; and therefore he per- 
mits himself to be led as a sheep to the 
slaughter, without opening his mouth. 

Behold him in chains, dragged from the 
garden, in the midst of a tumultuous 
crowd, and brought in haste before the 
high priest ! And where are his disci- 
ples ? What do they do ? If they are 
unable to liberate him from the hands of 
enemies, they surely accompany him in 
order to defend his innocence before the 
judfes, or at least to console him by their 
presence. But no, the Gospel says : 
" Then his disciples leaving him, all fled 
away — Mark xiv. 50. How great was 
the pain which Jesus Christ felt at seeing 
himself forsaken and abandoned by his 
beloved disciples. Alas ! Jesus then siw 
all those who, after having been specially 
frvoured by him, would afterwards aban- 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 47 

don him, and ungratefully turn their back 
upon him. Ah, my Lord, I have been one 
of these unhappy souls, who having re- 
ceived so many graces, lights and calls, 
have ungiatefully forgotten and forsaken 
thee. Accept me for the sake of thy 
mercy, noAv that I return to thee with a 
penitent and borrowful heart, never again 
to leave thee. treasure of life, lov^s 
of my soul. 

feEGTION YII. 

JESUS IS PRESENTED TO THE HIGH PRIESTS, 
ANB IS CONDEMJ^Et) BY THEM TO DEATH. 

"But they holding Jesus, led him to 
Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes 
and the ancients were assembled'' — Mat. 
xxvi. 57. Bound as a malefactor, our 
Saviour enters Jerusalem, where he was 
received a few days before with so much 
honour and applause. He passes, during 
the night, through the streets, amid 
torches and lanterns ; and such was the 
noise and tumult that all the citizens were 
given to understand that some notorious 
Dialefactor was conducted in chains by 



48 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



the officers of justice. The people run to 
the windows, and ask Who is tlie prisoner? 
They are told that lie is Jesus of Naza- 
reth, who has been proved to be a seducer, 
an impostor, and worthy of death. But 
vhat must have been the sentiments of 
contempt and indignation which all felt 
when they saw Jesus Christ, who was 
hailed before as the Messiah, now impri- 
soned as an impostor, by order of the 
fudges? Oh! how each person changed 
uis veneration into hatred, and through 
shame of having saluted a malefactor as 
the Messiah, repented of having treated 
him with honour. 

Behold the Redeemer presented, as if in 
triumph, before Caiphas, who waited for 
ftis arrival, and Avas filled with joy when 
ae saw him alone and abandoned by his 
disciples. Behold, my soul, thy sweet 
Lord, bound as a criminal, standing witli 
downcast countenance, all meekness and 
humility, before the haughty pontiff. Be- 
hold that beautiful countenance, which in 
the midst of so much contempt and so 
many injuries, has not lost its natural se- 
renity and sweetness. Ali, my Jesus, what 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 49 

gliall I do, now that I see thee surrounded, 
not by angels praising thee, but by a vile 
rabble that hates and despises thee ? Will 
I continue to despise thee as I have hith- 
erto done ? Ah 1 no, during the remain- 
der of my life, I wish to esteem and love 
tbee as thou dost deserve, and I promise 
to love nothino' but thee. Thou shalt be 
my only love, my good, my all. 3fy God 
jjid my all. 

The impious high priest interrogates 
Jesus regarding his disciples and doc- 
trine, in order to fimd some grounds of 
condemnation against him. Jesus hum- 
bly answers : I have spoken to the 
world . . . Behold they know what things 
I have said" — ^John xviii. 20, &c. I 
have not spoken in secret, I have spoken 
in public ; they who are present can bear 
witness to what I have said. He appeals 
to the testimony of his very enemies. 
But after an answer so just and meek, an 
insolent servant rushes forward through 
the crowd, and, as if to chastise him for 
insolence to Caiphas, gives him a severe 
blow on the cheek, saying : " Is it thus 
tliou answerest the high priest?" And 
4 



50 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

when lie had said these things, one of tho 
servants standing by gave Jesus a blow 
saying : " linswerest thou the high priest 
so?^^ — John xviii. 22. God, how 
could an answer so humble and modest 
merit so gross an insult ? The unworthy 
pontiff efees it, and instead of rebuking 
the guilty servant, remains silent, and by 
his silence approves of his conduct. On 
receiving the blow, Jesus, in order to 
show that he was not wanting in respect 
to the high priest, said : If I have spoken 
evil, give testimony of the evil : but if 
well, why strikest thou me?" — John 
xviii. 23. Ah, my amiable Redeemer, 
thou dost submit to all these affronts in 
order to atone for the insults which I 
have offered to the divine majesty by my 
sins. Ah, pardon me through the merit 
of the insults thou hast suffered for my sake. 

They " sought false witnesses against 
Jesus, that they might put him to death, 
and they found not" — Mat. xxvi. 59. 
They seek for false witnesses in order to 
condemn the Saviour, but find none ; 
hence the high priest endeavours again 
to discover in the words of J esus grounds 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 51 



for declaring him guilty, and therefore 
saj» : " I adjure thee by the living God, 
that thou teil us if thou be the Christ the 
Son of God Mat. xxvi. 63. Whei. 
asked in the name of God, he confessed 
the truth, saying : " I am. And you 
shall see the Son of Man sitting on the 
right hand of the power of God, and 
coming with the clouds of heaven'* — 
Mark xiv. 62. I am ; and you shall one 
day see me, not in the lowliness in which 
I now appear, but seated as on a throne 
of majesty, on the clouds of heaven, with 
power to judge all men. At these words 
the high priest, instead of falling pros- 
trate on his face to adore his God and 
his judge, rends his garments and ex- 
claims : What further testimony do we 
require ? Have you heard the blasphemy 
vfhich he has spoken ? " Then the high 
priest rent his garment, saying : He hath 
blasphemed, what further need have we 
of witnesses ? Behold now you have heard 
the blasphemy. What think you?" — 
xxvi. 65, 66. All the other priests imme- 
diately answered that he certainly de- 
served death. " But they answering said^ 



52 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

he is guilty of death — ibid, verse 
Ah, my Jesus, tliy eternal Father pro- 
nounced the same sentence when thou 
didst offer thyself to atone for our sins. 
He then said : My Son, since thou dost 
wish to make satisfaction for men, thou 
art guilty of death, and shalt die. 

'^Then did they spit in his face, and 
buffet him, and others struck his face 
with the palms of their hands, saying : 
Prophesy unto us, Christ, who is he 
that struck thee ''—Mat. xxvi. 67, 68. 
Then they all begin to maltreat him, as a 
criminal already condemned to death, and 
deserving of all kinds of reproadies. 
Some spit in his face, others buffet him, 
and others strike him with their hands, 
and blindfolding him, "they,'' says St. 
Mark, " began to spit on him, and cover 
liis face " (xiv. 65). They mock him as a 
false prophet, saying : Since thou art a 
prophet, guess who it is that has struck 
thee. St. Jerome has written, that the 
ignominies and cruelties which our Lord 
suffered on that night were so manifold, 
that they shall not be all known till the 
day of judgment 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 53 

Then my Jesus, on that night thou didst 
not repose ; no, thou wast the object of 
the derision and cruelty ot that ferocious 
rabble. men, how can you behold a 
God so feumbled, and continue to indulge 
in pride ? How can you behold your Re- 
deemer suffering such torments for your 
sake, and not love him? God! how 
can they who believe, and reflect on the 
pains and ignominies which, according to 
the narration of the Evangelists, Jesus 
has suffered for our sake, live without 
burning with love for a God so benignant 
and so enamoured of us ? 

The fall of Peter, who denied him, and 
even swore that he never knew him, add- 
ed to the sufferings of Jesus. Go, my 
soul, go to that prison where my Lord is 
sorrowful, mocked and abandoned ; thank 
him, and console him by thy repentance, 
for thou also hast despised and deiided 
him. Tell him that thou wouldst wish 
to die of sorrow, at the thought of hav- 
ing hitherto caused so much bitterness to 
the sweet heart of a God who has loved 
thee so tenderly. Tell him that now 
thou dost love him, and dost desire noth- 



54 COXSIDERATIOXS ON THE 

lug else than to suffer and die for the 
love of him. Ah, my Jesus, forget all the 
displeasure I liave given thee, and look 
on me with that love with which thou 
didst look on Peter after he denied thee ; 
after the look which thou didst then cast 
upon him, lie did not cease to bewail his 
sin until he ceased to live. 

great Son of God, in-finite love, 
who dost suffer for the very men who 
hate and maltreat thee, thou art the glory 
of paradise ; thou would have done great 
honour to men by merely permitting them 
to kiss thy feet. But, God ! what has 
reduced thee to such a degree of igno- 
miny as to become the sport of the vilest 
rabble ? Tell me, my Jesus, what I 
can do in order to compensate the honour 
which thy enemies take from thee l^y 
their insults and reproaches. I hear thee 
answer : Bear insults for my sake, as I 
have borne them for the love of thee. 
Yes, my Eedeemer, I wish to obey thee. 
My Jesus, despised for the love of me, I 
am willing, and desire to be despised for 
thee as much as thou pleasest. 



PASSION OF JESUS CHR/RT. 



55 



SECTION nil. 

JESUS IS BROUGHT BEFORE PIT. ATE, AFTER- 
WARDS TO HEROD : BARABBAS IS PREFERRED 
TO HIM. 

" And when the morning was come, the 
chief priests and the ancients of the 
people took counsel against Jesus, that 
they might put him to death. And they 
brought Jiim bound, and delivered him to 
Pontius Pilate, the governor'^ — Mat.xx\ii. 
1, 2. In the morning the chief priests 
again declared him deserving of death, 
and then bring him before Pilate, in or- 
der to get him condemned to the death of 
the cross. After having asked many 
questions as well of the Jews as of our 
Redeemer, Pilate felt convinced thai; 
Jesus was innocent, and that the accusa- 
tions were all calumnies. Hence he went 
out and told the Jews that he fomid no 
grounds of condemnation against him. 

He went out again to the Jews and said 
to them : I find no fault in him" — John 
sviii. 38. But afterwards, seeing that 
the Jews were so intent on the death of 



56 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

Jesus, and hearing tliat he was from Gali- 
lee, Pilate, in order to get rid of liis em- 
barrassment, " sent him away to Herod'^ 
— Luke xxiii. 7. Herod was delighted to 
see Jesus Christ in his court ; he hoped 
that our Lord would perform some mira- 
cles in his presence. Hence he proposed 
many questions to him, but Jesus remain- 
ed silent, and gave no answer, thus re- 
proving the vain curiosity of the haughty 
ruler. " And he questioned him in many 
words. But he answered him nothing'' 
Luke xxiii. 9. Miserable the soul to 
whom the Lord speaks no longer. My 
Jesus, this I have deserved, because I 
have been deaf to thy merciful inspira- 
tions, by which thou hast so often called 
me to thy love. I have deserved that 
thou shouldst speak to me no longer, and 
that thou shouldst abandon me ; but no, 
my dear Redeemer, have pity on me, and 
speak to me. " Speak, Lord, for thy ser- 
vant heareth.'' Tell me what thou wil- 
iest from me, I wish to obey thee, and to 
please thee in all things. 

But Herod felt indignant at the silence 
of Jesus ; regarding him as a fool, he or- 



) 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 57 



dered him to be clothed, through derision, 
with a white garment, and despised him 
with all his court ; after having thus 
treated him with contempt and mockery, 
he sent him back to Pilate. " And Herod 
with his army, set him at nought ; and 
mocked him, putting on him a Avhite gar- 
ment, and sent him back to Pilate" — 
Luke xxiii. 11. Behold how Jesus, clothed 
with that mock garment, is led through 
the streets of Jerusalem. my despised 
Saviour, thou wouldst submit even to the 
Ignominy of being treated as a fool ! 
Christians, behold how the world treats 
tlie eternal wisdom. Happy the man 
who delights in being treated by the 
world as a fool, and wishes to know 
nothing but Jesus crucified, loving suf- 
fering and insults, and saying with St. 
Paul : " For I judged not myself to 
know any thing among you but Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified." — 1 Cor. ii. 2. 

The Jews had a right to demand of the 
Roma,n governor, the liberation of a 
criminal at the paschal solemnity. Henco 
Pilate proposed to them Jesus and Barab- 
bas, saying : " Whom will you that I 



58 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

release to you, Barabbas or Jesus — 
Mat. xxvii. 17. He felt certain that tli6 
people would prefer Jesus to Barabbas, 
who was a wicked man, a homicide, a 
public robber, and an object of universal 
abhorrence. But the people instigated by 
the heads of the synagogue, instantly and 
without deliberation, demanded Barabbas. 
"But they said, Barabbas" — Mat. xxvii. 
21. Being astonished, and at the same 
indignant at seeing so great a miscreant 
preferred to an innocent man, Pilate said : 
What shall I then do with Jesus ? They 
say all : Let him be crucified." Pilate 
then said: "What evil hath he done? 
But they cried out the more, saying : Let 
him be crucified" — Mat. xxvii. 22, 23. 
My Lord, this I have done when I have 
committed sin. I had then the choice of 
loving thee or a vile pleasure ; and I 
Hve answered, I wish for the pleasure, 
And care not to lose God. This I then 
said, my Lord, but I now say that I 
prefer thy grace before all the pleasures 
and riches of the world. infinite s^ood, 
my Jesus, I love thee above every 
other good ; I wish for thee and for no- 
thing else. 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 59 



As Jesus and Barabbas were proposed 
to the people, so it was proposed to the 
eternal Father to save his Son or sinful 
man. The eternal Father answered : Let 
my Son die, and let sinful man be saved. 
This the apostle has declared : " He tha,t 
spared not even his own Son, but deliv- 
ered him up for us all *^ — Rom. viii. 32. 
The Father would not spare his own Son, 
but consigned him to death for us all. 
Yes, said our Saviour, God has so loved 
the world, that for its salvation, lie de- 
livered up his only begotten Son to 
torments and death. God so loved the 
world as to give his only-begotten Son " — ■ 
John iii. 16. Hence the holy Church 
exclaims : " wonderful condescension 
of thy mercy in our regard ! inestima- 
ble love of charity ! To redeem a slave 
thou hast delivered up thy Son!'^ — In 
exult, in Sabb, Sand. admirable con- 
descension of thy mercy, my God ! O 
inconceivable tenderness of love I To 
ransom a slave, thou hast condemned thy 
Son ! holy faitli ! How is it possible 
for him who believes this not to be all fire 
in loving a God who loves men so tender- 



f^C CONSIDERATIONS ON THIS 

ly: that we had always before out 
eyes tliis infinite charity of God I 



SECTIOX IX. 

JESUS IS SCOURGED AT THE PILLAR. 

^' Then therefore Pilate to Jesus and 
scourged him "—John xix. 1. Seeing that 
the two means he had taken of saving the 
innocent Jesus from the Jews, viz, send- 
ing him to Herod, and proposing him 
along with Barabbas, liad failed, he tried 
another • he ordered the Sayiour to be 
scourged, intending afterwards to dismiss 
him. " You have," he said, presented 
unto me this man , . . . and behold, I, 
having examined him before you, find no 

cause in this man No, nor Herod, 

neither .... I will chastise him therefore, 
and release him"— Luke xxiii. 14, 15. 
You have accused this man as a eriniMial 
before me ; but I find no guilt in him, 
neither has Herod found any. However, 
to satisfy you, I will chastise him and will 
afterwards release him. God ! what 
an injustice. He declares Jesus Christ 




(61) 



62 



CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



perfectly innocent : I find no cause in tliU 
man ; and afterwards condemns him to 
be chastised. my Jesus thou art inno- 
cent, but I am guilty ; and since thou 
dost wish to make satisfaction to the 
divine justice for my sins, it is not un- 
just ; no, it is just that thou be punished. 

What, Pilate, is the chastisement to 
which thou dost condemn this innocent ? 
Dost thou condemn him to be scourged ? 
Dost thou sentence an innocent man to a 
punishment so cruel and so shameful? 
Yes, he commanded him to be scourged* 
Then therefore Pilate took Jesus and 
scourged him'' — John xix. 1. Behold, 
my soul, how, after this most iniquitous 
order, the olEcers of justice seize with 
fury the meek Lamb, conduct him amid 
shouts and yells of triumph to the hall, 
and bind him to the pillar. And what 
does Jesus do ? With humble submission 
he accepts this painful and ignominiou? 
punishment in satisfaction for our sins 
Behold how they take the lash in theii 
hands, and when the signal is given, raise 
their arms, and begin to scourge every 
part of his sacred body. executioners, 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 63 

yoQ have erred ; this man is not guilty, 
it is I that have deserved these scourges. 

The virginal body of Jesas first appears 
all livid, and then begins to send forth 
blood from every member. Alas ! the 
executioners, after having lacerated the 
whole body, continue without mercy to 
lash the woimds already inflicted, and to 
add pain to pain. " They have added to 
the grief of my wounds" — Ps. Ixviii. 27*. 
O my soul, wilt thou be one of those who 
look with indifference on thy God torn 
with scourges ? Eeflect on his sufferings, 
but still more on the love with which thy 
sweet Lord submits to sucli excruciating 
torture for thy sake. In his scourging, 
Jesus certainly thought on thee. God ! 
had he borne but a single stripe for thy 
sake, thou shouldst burn with love for 
iiim, and say : A God has suffered to be 
struck for my sake. But for the atone- 
ment of thy sins he has, as Isaias foretold, 
permitted all his flesh to be mangled. 

He was wounded for our iniquities, he 
was bruised for our sins^^ — Isa. liii. 5. 
Alas ! says the same Prophet, the most 
beautiful of men no longer appears beaiv 



64 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



tiful. " There is no beauty in him, nor 
comeliness ; and we have seen him, and 
there was no sightliness" — ib. liii. 2. The 
scourges have so deformed him that he 
can be no longer recognised : " His look 
was as it were hidden and despised, 
whereupon we esteemed him not." — Isa. 
liii. 3. He is reduced to such a degree 
of misery, that he appears to be a leper 
covered with wounds from head to foot ; 
such the manner in which God wished to 
see him maltreated and humbled : "And 
we have thought him as it were a leper, 
and as one struck by God and afflicted" 
— V. 4. And why ? Because this loving 
Redeemer wished to suffer the pains that 
were due to us. " Surely he hath borne 
our infirmities, and carried our sorrows" 
— V. 4. Blessed for ever be thy mercy, 
my Jesus, who didst voluntarily submit 
to torments in order to deliver me from 
eternal torments. Oh! miserable and 
imhappy the soul that loves not thee, 
God of love ! 

But what does our amiable Saviour do 
while the executioners scourge him so 
cruelly? He neithei speaks, nor com- 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. Cfi 

phunb, nor sighs ; but patiently offei s all 
to God to appease his anger against ns. 
"Like a lamb without voice before his 
sliearer, so openeth he not his mouth'' — 
Acts viii. 32. Ah my Jesus, innocent 
Lamb, these barbarians shear thee not of 
wool, but of thy skin and flesh. But be- 
hold the baptism of blood which thou 
didst so ardently desire when thou saidst ; 
*' 1 have a baptism wherewith I am to be 
baptized ; and liow am I straitened until 
it be accomplished — Luke xii. 50. Go, 
my soul, and wash thyself in the precious 
blood with which that fortunate floor is 
bathed. And, my sweet Saviour, how 
can I any longer doubt of thy love, wlien 
I see thee wounded and mangled for my 
sake ? I know that every wound in thj 
body is a most certain testimony of the 
affection thou hast for me. I heox every 
wound demanding my love. A single 
drop of thy blood was sufficient to save 
me ; but thou dost wish to give me the 
entire of it without reserve, that I might 
give myself to thee entirely and without 
reserve. Yes, my Jesus, I give my whole 
being to thee without any reserve ; as- 



5S CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

sist me and help me to be faithful to 
thee. 

SECTION X. 

JESUS IS CROWNED WITH THORNS AND TREATED 
AS A MOCK KING. 

"Then the soldiers of the governor 
taking Jesus into the hall, gathered to- 
gether unto him the whole band, and 
stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak 
about him : and platting a crown of 
thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed 
in his right hand'' — Mat. xxvii. 27, &c. 
Let us now consider the other torments 
which the soldiers inflicted on our tor- 
tured Lord. The entire band is assem- 
bled, they put on his shoulders a scarlet 
cloak (which was an old mantle worn by 
soldiers over their armour), in imitation 
of the purple, as the emblem of royalty : 
they then placed in his hand a reed for a 
sceptre, and for a crown they put on a 
wreath of thorns which surrounded the 
entire head. And because by the pressure 
of the hands the thorns did not enter suf- 
ficiently into his sacred head, which was 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 



67 




68 CONSIDERATiaXS OX TEE 



already wounded by the scourges, they 
took a reed, and spitting in his face, beat 
with all their might the cruel crown into 
the head of Jesus. "And spitting on 
him, thev took the reed and struck his 
head Mat. xxvii. 30. 

thorns, O ungi^ateful clotures, what 
is it you do ? Do you thus torment your 
Creator? But why reprove tlie thorns ? 
sinful thoughts of men, it was 'you that 
pierced the head of the Redeemer. Yes, 
my Jesus, by our criminal consent?- vre 
have formed thy crown of thorns. I now 
detest these consents and abhor them 
more than death or any other evil. To 
you, O thorns, consecrated with the blood 
of the Son of God, I again tmm with an 
humble heart ; ah, pierce this soul of 
mine, make it always sorrowful for having 
offended so good a God. And since thou, 

Jesus my love, hast suffered so much 
for me, detach me from creatm*es and 
from myself, so that I may be able to say 
with truth that I am no longer mine, that 

1 belong to thee alone, and am all thine. 
O my aflSicted Saviour, O King of the 

H'orld. to what do I see thee reduced ? 



PASSION OP JESUS CHKISX. 6^1 

[ behold tlioe a king of mockery and sor- 
row ! In a word, I see the laughing-stock 
of all Jerusalem ! From the wounded 
head of our Lord, streams of blood flow 
down his face and breast. I am filled 
with astonishment, my Jesus, at the 
cruelty of thy enemies, who are not con- 
tent with liaving as it were excoriated 
thy flesh from liead to foot, but still con- 
tinue to torment thee with fresh cruel tif^ 
and insults ; but I admire still more thy 
meekness and tliy love in suffering and ac- 
cepting all with so much patience for the 
love of us. Who when he was reviled, 
did not revile ; when he suffered, he 
threatened not ; but delivered himself to 
to him that judged him unjustly " — 1 Pe- 
ter ii. 23. The prediction of Jeremias, 
that our Saviour would be satiated with 
sorrows and ignominies, is verified. " He 
Bhall give Ids cheek to him that striketh 
him, he sliall be filled with reproaches 
— Lam. iii. 30. 

But, soldiers, are you not satisfied ? 
" And bowing the knee before him, they 
mocked him, saying, Hail, king of tho 
/ews ^ - -Matt xx\\L 29- St. John writes : 



70 CONSrD^RATlONS OX TUB 

And they came to 1/Im, and said ; Haii 
king of the Jews ; and they ga^e him 
blows " — xix. 3. After having thus tor- 
mented him, and clothed him as a mock 
king, they kneel before him in derision, 
and say ; We salute thee, king of the 
Jews. Then, rising up, they laugh at 
him, mock him, and buffet him. God ! 
the sacred head of Jesus is all wounded 
by the punctures of the thorns, so that 
eyery motion produced the pangs of death. 
Thus every buffet and blow was to him a 
most cruel torment. Go, my soul, and do 
thou at least confess the Saviour to be 
what he really is, the Lord of the uni- 
verse ; and thank and love him as the 
king of sorrow and of love, since he suf- 
fers in order to be loved by thee. 



SECTION XI. 

pilate shews jesrs to the people, sattxq : 
"behold the man." 

" Pilate therefore went forth again, and 

saitli to them • Behold the man" — 

John xix. 4, When Jesus was brouglit 



' .SSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 71 

l)0.{or/ k'Mte after tlie scourging- and 
cvowzoT}.g^ with tliorns, Pilate looked ai 
liirn; seeing him so mangled and do- 
formed, ^elt persuaded that he would 
move th^i people to compassion by merely 
exposirg him to their yiew. Hence he 
went forth to the balcony, bringing with 
him our afflicted Saviour, and said to the 
people: " Behold the man as if he said: 
(T Jews, be content with what this inno- 
cent man has already suffered ; BeJiold 
the man ; behold the man whom you sus- 
pected of wishing to become your king : 
behold him, see the miserable condition 
to which he is reduced. What fear can 
you now have of him, when it is impossi- 
ble for him to recover from his wounds ? 
Let him go and die in his own house ; he 
has but a short time to live. 

"Jesus therefore came forth, bearing 
the crown of thorns, and the purple gar- 
ments—John xix. 5. Behold, m.y soul, 
on that balcony, thy Lord bound and 
dragged by a soldier ; behold him half 
naked covered with wounds and blood, 
his flesh all torn ; behold him clothed 
v:*th a rag of purple which only excites 



72 coNsman^TioNs on the 



derision, and carrying that barbaroui? 
crown which continues to torment him. 
Behold the state to which thy pastor is 
reduced, in order to find thee, his lost 
sheep. Ah, my Jesus, in how many clia- 
racters do men exhibit thee, but all in 
order to add to thy pain and ignominy 1 
Ah, m.y sweet Redeemer, thou dost excite 
the compassion of the blasts of the forest, 
and still thou dost not find mercy. Be- 
hold the answer of the people: "When 
the chief priests therefore and tlie ser- 
vants had seen him, they cried out, sny- 
ing : " Crucify him ; crucify him" — Jolin 
xix. 6. But what shall they say on tlie 
day of judgment when they shall see liim 
gloriously seated as a judge on a throne 
of light? But, alas, my Jesus, I too once 
said : Crucify Mm, crucify Mm, wlien I 
o-fifended thee by my sins. But, God of 
my soul, I now am sorry for them above 
all things, and I love thee above every 
good. Pardon me through the merits of 
thy passion, and grant tliat on the last day 
I may see thee appeased, and not enraged 
against me. 
Pilate shewed Jesus to the Jews, say- 



PASSION OP JESUS CHBIST. 7 J 

ing : Behold the man, and, at tlie same 
time, tlie eternal Father from heaven 
invited us to look at Jesus Christ in the- 
miserable state to which he was reduced, 
and said : Behold the man. men, this 
man whom you see tormented and des- 
pised, is my beloved Son, who, for the 
love of you, and to atone for your sins, 
submits to sucli torments ; look at him,, 
thank him, and love him. My God and 
my Father, c^hou dost tell me to look at 
this thy Son ; but I pray thee to look at 
him for me ; look at him, and for the love 
of this Son have mercy on me. 

Seeing that Pilate, in spite of all their 
clamour, sought to save Jesus, Queerebat 
Pilatus dimittere eum'' — John xix. 2,) the 
Jews, by exclaiming that, were he to- 
release liim, he would declare himself the 
enemy of Csesar, endeavoured to force 
him to condemn the Saviour. " The Jews 
cried out, saying : If thou release that 
man, thou art not Caesar's friend ; for 
whosoever maketh himself a king speak- 
eth against Caesar'*' — John xix. 12. Un- 
fortunately for them, their efforts were 
successful. Pilate is afraid of losing the 



74 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

friendship of Caesar, and therefore he 
brings Jesus Christ into the hall, and sit? 
in judgment in order to pass sentence of 
condemnation upon him. " When Pilate 
had heard these words, he brought Jesus 
forth, and sat down in the judgment-seat" 
— John xix. ] 3. But stung with remorse 
of conscience at the thought of condemn- 
ing an innocent man, he again turns to 
the Jews, and says to them : " Behold 
your king." Shall I condemn your king ? 
" But they cried out : Away with him, 
away with him, crucify him"— John xix. 
14, 15^ * The Jews exclaim with greater 
fury than before : What king ? What 
king ? Ah Pilate, you always keep him 
before our eyes. " Away with him, away 
with him ; take him out of sight, and con- 
demn him to die on a cross. Ah my I.crd, 
incarnate Word, thou art come from 
heaven on earth to converse with men, 
and to save them ; but they cannot bear 
to see thee any longer among them, they 
labour with all their might to put thee to 
death, and to take thee out of sight. 

Pilate still resists, and says : " Shall I 
crucify your king ? The chief priesta 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 75 

answered : we have no king but Cassar" 
— John xix. 15. Ah, my adorable Jesus, 
they are unwilling to acknowledge thee 
for their Lord, and say that they have no 
other king than Gsesar. I acknowledge 
thee for my king and my God, and I pro- 
test that I wish for no other king in my 
heart than thee, my Redeemer. Unhappy 
me ! I liave once submitted to the domi- 
nation of my passions, and have banished 
thee, my divine King, from my soul. I 
now wish that thou alone reign in my 
heart ; that thou command, and that it 
obey. I will say to thee, with St. Teresa : 
Lover, who lovest me more than I am 
able to conceive, grant that my soul may 
serve thee more in conformity with thy 
pleasure than her own. May this self 
die, and may anotlier live in me. May 
he live and give me life. May he reign, 
and may I be his slave. May my soul 
wish for no other liberty ; My Jesus, 
thou art my only king, my only goo(], my 
only love. 



76 CONSIDERATION'S ON IHB 



SECTION XII. 

JESUS IS CONDEMNED BY PILATE, 

" Then, therefore, he delivered liini to 
them to be crucified" — John xix. 16. Be- 
hold how Pilate, after having so often 
declared the innocence of Jesus, declares 
it again by washing his hands, and pro- 
testing that he is innocent of the blood 
of that just man, and that, should lie die, 
the Jews must render an account of his 
death. Pilate, .... taking water, wash- 
ed his hands before the people, saying : I 
am innocent of the blood of this just 
man : look you to it*' — Mat. xxvii. 24. 
He then pronounces the sentence, and 
condemns Jesus to death. injustice no 
longer known in the world ! A judge 
condemns the accused, and at the same 
time declares him innocent! St. Luke 
says, that Pilate delivered Jesus into the 
hands of the Jews, that they might treat 
him as they pleased. " Jesus was de- 
livered up to their wilF' — Luke xxiii. 25. 
This is what really happens when an iji- 
nocent man is condemned. He is given 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 77 



over to the hands of his enemies, that 
they may take away his life by the death 
which is most pleasing to them. Un- 
happy Jews ! you then said : " His blood 
be upon us and upon oui^ children^^ — Mat. 
xxvii. 25. You have prayed for the 
chastisement ; it lias already come. Your 
nation bears, and shall bear to the end 
of the world, the punishment due to the 
sliedding of that innocent blood. 

Behold the unjust sentence of death is 
read in tlie presence of our condemned 
Lord. He lisleus to it, and with entire 
resignation to the just decree of his Eter- 
nal Father, who condemns him to the 
cross, he humbly accepts it, not for the 
crimes falsely imputed to him by the 
Jews, but in atonement for our real sins, 
for which he offered to make satisfaction 
by his death. Pilate says on eartli : Let 
Jesus die. And the Eternal Father from 
heaven confirms tlie sentence, saying : 
Let my Son die. The Son himself an- 
swers : Here I am ; I obey ; I accept 
death, and the death of the cross. " He 
humbled himself, becoming obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross'^ — PhiL 



78 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



ii. 8. My beloved Redeemer, thou dost 
accept tlie death due to me, and by thy 
death dost obtain life for me. I thank 
thee for it, my love, and I hope to go 
one day to praise thy mercies for ever in 
heaven. " The mercies of the Lord I will 
sing for ever'^ — Ps. Ixxxviii. 2. But since 
thou, an innocent, dost accept the death 
of the cross, I, a sinner, cheerfully accept 
the death thou dost appoint for me, and I 
accept it with all the pains that shall ac- 
company it ; and from this moment I 
offer it to thy Eternal Father, in union 
with thy holy death. Thou hast died for 
the love of me ; I wish to die for the love 
of thee. Ah, through the merits of thy 
bitter death, grant me, O my Jesus, the 
happy lot of dying in thy grace, and 
bm^ning with thy holy love. 



SECTION XIII. 

JESUS CARRIES THE CROSS TO CALVABY. 

As soon as the sentence is proclaimed, 
the unhappy people raise a shout of exul- 
tation, ana say : Rejoice, rejoice ; Jesus is 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIfeT. 79 

already condemned. Make haste ; lose no 
time ; prepare the cross, and put him to 
death before to-morrow, which will be the 
paschal solemnity. Tliey instantly seize 
him ; tear off the scarlet cloak, and put 
)n his own clothes, that (says St, Am- 
brose) he might be recognized by the 
people, as th^: impostor (as they called 
him), whom they had a few days before 
hailed as the Messiah. "They took off* 
the cloak from him, and put on his own 
garments, and led him away to crucify 
5im'' — Mat. xxvii. 31. They then take 
two large beams, make a cross, and inso- 
lently command him to carry it on his 
shoulders to the place of his execution. 
God ! what barbarity ! to pnt so heavy 
a burden on a man who has been so tor- 
tured and exhausted of strength. 

Jesus lovingly embraces the cross. 
''And bearing his own cross, he went 
forth to that place which is called Cal- 
vary" — John xix. 17. Behold the ofiScers 
of justice set out along with the criminals, 
and among these goes the Saviour loaded 
with the very altar on which he is to sac- 
rifice his life. A devout autlior justly 



80 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



remarks, that the passion of Jesus Christ 
was, in all its circumstanees, an object of 
astonishment and an excess, as it was 
called bj Moses and Elias on Mount 
Thabor. Et dicebant excessum ejus 
quern completurus erat in Jerusalem " — 
Luke ix. 13. Who would have ever im- 
agined that the sight of Jesus covered 
with wounds, should only serve to in- 
crease the rage of the Jews and their 
desire to see him crucified ? What ty- 
rant has ever, made a criminal carry his 
own gibbet on liis shoulders after he had 
been consumed by torments ? It fills one 
with horror to think on the accumulation 
of cruelties, insults, and derisions, which 
his enemies made Jesus suffer in less than 
half a day, from his capture till his death. 
The fetters, the buffets, the spittle, the 
mockery, the scourges, the thorns, the 
•lails, the agony and death, succeed one 
after another without interruption. In a 
word, the Jews and Gentiles, the priests 
and the people, all united to make Jesus 
Christ (as Isaias had foretold) a man 
overwhelmed with insults and sorrows. 
The judge defends the innocence of Jesus, 



PASSION OF JESUS CH/IIST. 



81 



but the defence served only to add to the 
pains and ignominies of the Eedeemer ; 
for had Pilate at once condemned him to 
death, Jesus would not see Barabbas pre- 
ferred before him, he would not have been 
treated as a fool, he would not have been 
so cruelly scourged and crowned with 
thorns. 

But let us return to the consideration 
of the astonishing spectacle of the Son of 
God going to die for the very men who 
conduct him to death. Behold the pre- 
diction of Jeremias verified. " And I 
was as a meek lamb that is carried to be 
a victim — xi. 19. Behold how they lead 
the innocent Saviour as a lamb to the 
slaughter. ungrateful city, dost thou 
thus banish from thoe thy Redeemer with 
so much contempt, after he had conferred 
so many favours upon thee ? God, sucli 
too is the ingratitude of the Christian 
who, after being favoured with many di- 
vine gifts, banishes Jesus from his soul 
by sin. 

The appearance of Jesus in the journey 
to Calvary was so pitiable that the wo- 
men followed him weeping and lamenting 
6 



82 



CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



Dver his sufferings. " And there followed 
him a great multitude of people and of 
women who bewailed and lamented liim " 
— Luke xxiii. 27. But the Redeemer turn- 
ing to them, said : Weep not over me, but 
over your children : " For if in the green 
wood they do these things, what shall be 
done in the dcyV' — ib. v. 31. By these 
words he wished to give us to understand 
the great punishment which our sins de- 
serve : for if he wl>o was innocent and 
the Son of God,' merely because he had 
offered to make satisfaction for our trans- 
gressions, was treated in this manner, 
how shall men be treaced for their own 
sins ? 

Look at him, my soul : see him mov- 
ing along with his flesh all torn, carrying 
a crown of thorns on his head and a heavy 
cross on his shoulders, surrounded by ene- 
mies who load him with insults and male- 
dictions. God ! his sacred body is all 
mangled, so that at every step the pain of 
his wounds is renewed. The cross tor- 
ments him before he is fastened to it, for 
h pvesses on his wounded shoulders, and 
and cruelly beats into his head the thorns 



PASSION OF JEStJS CHRIS^r. 8^ 

i>f that barbarous crown. Alas, how great 
and manifold his pain at every step. 
But Jesus leaves not the cross ; no, he 
does not leave it, because through it he 
wishes, as Isaias foretold, to reign in the 
(learts of men : " And the government is 
on his shoulders'' — ix. C. Ah my Jesus, 
with what sentiments of love for me didst 
thou then go to Calvary, where thou wast 
to consummate the great sacrilice of tliy 
life! 

My soul, do thou also embrace thy 
cross for the love of Jesus, who suffers so 
much for thy sake. See how he goes be- 
fore with his cross, and invites thee to 
follow him with thine. If any man will 
come after me, let him take up his cross 
and follow me " — Mat. xvi. 24. My Je- 
sus, I do not wish to leave thee ; I wish 
to follow thee till death : but, through the 
merits of this painful journey, give me 
strength to carry with patience the crosses 
which thou dost send me. Ah, thou hast 
rendered sorrows and insults amiable by 
embracing them with so much love for 
our sake, 

" They found a man of Cyrene, named 



84 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



8imori, him they forced to take up his 
cross " — -Mat. xxvii. 32. And they laid 
the cross on him to carry after Jesus 
Luke XXV. 26. Was it through com- 
passion that they unburdened Jesus of the 
cross, and placed it on the Cyrenean? 
No, it was through wickedness and hatred 
Seeing that our Lord almost breathed 
forth his soul at every step, they began 
to fear that he would not reach Calvary 
alive ; they wished not only that he should 
die, but also that he should die on the 
cross, that his memory might be for ever 
infamous : for to die on a cross was the 
same as to be the object of universal 
malediction. ^ For he is accursed that 
hangeth on a tree'' — -Deut. xxi. 23. 
Hence, in seeking the death of Jesus, 
they not only called on Pilate to put him 
to death, but always demanded his cru- 
cifixion : let Mm he crucified^ crucify Mm^ 
crucify Afm," that his name might be so 
infamous on earth, that it would be no 
longer mentioned. Let us cut him off 
from the land of the living, and let his 
name be remembered no more" — Jer. 
xi. 19. Hence they took the cross off his 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 85 



slioiildors that lie might reach Calvary 
vliY3 ; tlius they gained their object, and 
ittw him dying the shameful death of the 
yrosso Ah, my despised Jesus, thou art 
ny hope, and all my love. 



SECTION XIY. 

JESUS IS CRUCIFIED. 

As sooia as Jesus arrived on Calvary, 
oppressed with pain and fatigue, they 
gave him to drink wine mixed with gall, 
Vr^hich was ordinarily given to persons 
condemned to the death of the cross, in 
order to diminish their sensibility to pain. 
But because Jesus wished to die without 
comfort, he tasted, but would not drink 
it. " And they gave him wine to drink 
mingled with gall. And when he had 
tasted, he would not drink — Mat. xxvii. 
34. The people therefore fo_^^med a circle 
round Jesus, the soldiers took off his gar- 
ments, which, because they were fastened 
to his wounded and mangled body, took 
with them pieces of flesh. They then 
threw him on the cross. Jesus stretched 



d6 CONSIDEnATIONS ON THE 



out his sacred hands, offered to the 
eternal Father the great sacrifice of liim- 
self, and prayed him to accept it for our 
salvation. 

Behold they took the nails and hammers, 
and piercing the hands and feet of the 
Saviour, they fastened liim to the cross. 
The noise of the hammers resounded 
through the mountains, and was heard by 
Mary, who followed her Son, and had 
already arrived at the place of execution. 
sacred hands, which by your touch have 
healed so many invalids, why are you now 
pierced on this cross ? sacred feet, so 
often wearied in seeking after lost sheep, 
why are you now transfixed with nails ? 
Why do you suffer such intense pain? 
When a nerve is punctured, the pain is so 
acute that it causes the swoons and 
spasms of death. How great, then, must 
have been the pain which Jesus suffered 
when his hands and feet, — parts of the 
body which are full of bones and nerves, 
— were pierced with the nails? my 
sweet Sa^dour, how dearly has my salva- 
tion, and thy desire of gaining the love of 
rae, a miserable worm, cost thee ! And I 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 87 

have so often ungratefully refused tliee 
iny love, and have turned my back upon 
thee. 

Behold the cross is raised along with 
Jesus Christ who is fastened to it, and is 
let fall with violence into the hole pre- 
pared for it. It is then made fast in its 
place, and Jesus, nailed to it, hangs be- 
tween two thieves, there to leave his life. 
" They crucified him, and with him two 
others, one on each side, and Jesus in the 
midst^' — John xix. 18. This Isaias had 
foretold : He was reputed with the wick- 
ed" — liii. 12. To the cross was affixed a 
paper, on which was written : " Jesus of 
Nazareth, King of the Jews." The priests 
wanted Pilate to change the title, but he 
refused. God wished that all should 
know that the Jews put to death their 
true King and Messiah, whom they them- 
selves had so long expected and sighed 
for. 

Jesus on the cross ! Behold the proof 
of the love of a God. Behold the last 
appearance of the incarnate Word on 
earth. The first was in a stable : the last 
is on a cross : . both display his love and 



B8 CONSIDERATIOXS ON THE 

infinite charity for men. Contemplating 
one day the love of Jesus in dying foi 
us, St. Francis of Paul, wrapt in ecstacy 
and raised in the air, exclaimed three 
times in a loud voice : God, charity ! 
God, charity ! God, charity ! By 
these exclamations the Lord wished, 
through the saint, to teach us that we 
shall neyer be able to comprehend the in- 
finite love which this God has shown us, 
in condescending to suffer such torments, 
and to die for our salvation. My soul, 
approach with an humbled and penitent 
heart to that cross : kiss the altar on 
which thy loving Lord dies. Place thy- 
self under his feet, that his divine blood 
may flow upon thee, and say to the eter- 
nal Father (but in a sense different from 
that which the Jews intended), " His blood 
be upon us *^ — Matt, xxvii. 25. Lord, 
may this blood descend on us, and waeli 
ns from our sins : this blood does not de- 
mand vengeance from thee, as did the 
blood of Abel, but implores of thee for us 
mercy and pardon. This thy apostle en- 
courages us to hope for, saying : You 
are come to Jesus, the Mediator of the 



PASSION OF JESUS CHUISr. 



89 



New Testament, and to the sprinkli Qg of 
blood, which speaketh better than tliat 
of Aber^— Heb. xii. 24. 

God, liow great the torture of our 
dying Saviour on the cross ! Every mem- 
ber suffers pains ; one member cannot as- 
sist another, for the hands and feet are 
fastened v\^ith nails. Alas ! in every mo- 
ment he suffers the pangs of death, so 
that it may be said that during the three 
hours of his agony, Jesus suffered as many 
deaths as he was moments on the cross. 
On that bed of pain, our afflicted Lord 
had not a moment of comfort or repose. 
He had at one time rested on the hands, 
and at another on the feet ; but whereso- 
ever he rested, his sufferings were in- 
creased. In a word, that sacred body 
was suspended on his very wounds, so 
that the pierced hands and feet had to 
sustain the weight of the entire body. 

my dear Redeemer, if I look at thy 
Ijody I see nothing but wounds and blood ' 
if I look at thy heart I behold it over- 
whelmed with affliction and desolation. 
I read on this cross that thou art king ; 
but what badges of royalty dost thois 



90 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



wear ? I see no otlier throne than a gib- 
bet of infamy ; I see no other pnrple than 
thy flesh covered with blood and wounds : 
no other crown than this wreath of thorns 
whicli continues to torture thee. Ah, all 
exhibit thee as a king, not of majesty, but 
of love : the cross, the blood, the nails, 
the crown, are all so many proofs of loye. 

Hence from the cross Jesus seeks not 
so much our compassion as our loye. And 
if he seeks pity, he asks it only that it 
may induce us to loye him. He merits 
our loye on account of his own goodness ; 
but, on the cross he appears to ask us to 
love him at least through compassion. 
Ah, my Jesus, thou hadst just reason to 
say, before the time of thy passion, that, 
when thou shouldst be exalted on the 
cross, thou wouldst draw all our hearts 
to thee. And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all things to myself' 
—John xii. 32. Oh, what darts of fire 
didst thou cast at our hearts from this 
throne of loye ! Oh, how many happy 
BOuls hast thou drawn to thee from this 
cross, and rescued from the jaws of hell ? 
Permit me, then, to say to thee : Justly, 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 91 

my Lord, have they caused tliee to die 
between two thieves, since by thy love 
thou hast snatched from Lucifer so many 
Christians who justly belonged to him on 
account of their sins. One of these I 
hope to be. Avounds of my Jesus, 
blessed furnaces of love, receive me, that 

1 may burn not in the fire of hell, as I 
liave deserved, but with the holy flames 
of love for that God who has condescend- 
ed to die consumed by torments for my 
salvation. 

After the crucifixion of Jesus, the exe- 
cutioners cast lots for his garments, thus 
verifying the prediction of David : They 
parted my garments amongst them, and 
upon my venture they cast lots"^ — Psalm 
xxi. 19. They then sat down waiting for 
his death. My soul, do thou also sit at 
the foot of the cross, and under its saving 
shadow repose during thy whole life, that 
with the sacred spouse thou mayest be 
able to say : " I sat down under his shad- 
ow whom I desired'' — Cant. ii. 3. Oh! 
how delightful the repose which the souls 
that love God enjoy amid the tumults of 
the world, the temptations of licU, and 



92 CONSIDERATIOXS ON THE 



the terrors of the divine judgments at the 

sight of Jesus crucified. 

In the midst of his bodily pains, and 
the desolation and sadness of his soul, our 
dying Jesus looked for some one who 
would console him. But, my Redeemer, 
there is no one to comfort thee. Perhaps 
there are at least some to pity thee, and 
weep at the sight of thy bitter agony. 
But alas ! I hear some insult thee, others 
mock thee, and others blaspheme thee. 
One says : " If thou be the Son of God, 
come down from the cross'' — Mat. xxvii. 
40. Another : Yah ! thou that destroy- 
est the temple of God . . . save thyself' 
— Mark xv. 30. Others say : " He saved 
others ; himself he cannot save.'' Mat. 
xxvii. 42. God, what criminal has 
been ever loaded with so many insults 
and reproaches while he was dying on a 
gibbet ? 

SECTION XV. 

WORDS WHICH JESUS SPOKE OX THE CROSS. 

But what does Jesus do ? What does 
ho say at the sight of all the outrages 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 93 

which ne received ? He prays for them 
that maltreat him : " Father," he says, 
" forgive them, for they know not what 
they do" — Luke xxiii. 34. Jesus also 
prayed from the cross for us sinners. Let 
as then turn to the Eternal Father, and 
say to him with confidence : Father, 
hear the voice of tliis beloved Son, who 
implores thee to pardon us. To grant us 
pardon is an act of mercy in our regard, 
because we do not deserve mercy ; but it 
is an act of justice to Jesus Christ, who 
has superabundantly atoned for our sins. 
Thou hast obliged thyself to pardon us 
through his merits, and to receive into 
favour all" who repent of the offences they 
have offered thee. My Father, I repent 
with my whole heart of having offended 
thee ; and in the name of this Son, I ask 
thy pardon. Pardon me, and receive me 
into thy favour. 

" Lord, remember me when thou shalt 
come into thy kingdom" — Luke xxiii. 42. 
Thus the good thief prayed to Jesus dy- 
ing on the cross, and Jesus answered : 
" Amen, I say to thee : This day thoti 
shalt be with me in Paradise" — ib. 43. 



94 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

Here was verified what the Lord said 
long before by the prophet Ezekiel, that 
when sinners repent of their transgres- 
sions, God pardons them, and forgets the 
insults they have offered to him. " But 
if the wicked do penance ... I will not 
remember all his iniquities^' — xviii. 21, 
22. immense mercy — infinite good- 
ness of" my God, who will not love thee ? 
my Jesus, forget the injuries I have 
done thee, and remember the painful death 
thou hast suffered for my salvation, and 
for the sake of that death bring me to 
thy kingdom in the life to come, and 
grant that during this life thy holy love 
may reign in me. May thy love rule in 
my heart, and may it be my only lord, my 
only desire, my only love. Happy thief, 
who didst merit by thy patience to par- 
take of the fruits of the death of Jesus. 
And happy me, my Jesus, if I shall 
have the happiness to die loving thee, and 
uniting my death with thy holy death. 

" There stood by the cross of Jesus, his 
mother'^ — John xix. 25. Behold, my 
soul, Mary at the foot of the cross, trans- 
fixed with sorrow, and with her eyes fixed 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 95 



on her beloved and innocent Son, con- 
templating the external and internal 
pains in the midst of which he dies. She 
is perfectly resigned, and in peace offers 
to the eternal Father the death of her son 
for our salvation ; but her compassion 
and love are to her a source of great 
aflBiction. God ! who would not pity 
a mother standing beside the gibbet on 
which a Son dies before her eyes ? But 
heL^e we should consider who this mother 
and this Son are. Mary's love for her 
Son immensely surpassed the love of all 
mothers for their children. She loved 
Jesus, who was at the same time her Son 
and her God ; a Son infinitely amiable, all 
beauty and sanctity ; a Son who had been 
always respectful and obedient to her : a 
Son who had loved her so tenderly, and 
had, from eternity, chosen her for his 
mother. This was the mother who had ^ 
to behold such a Son dying before her 
^yes on an infamous gibbet, without being 
^ble to afford him any comfort : who saw 
that even the agony which she suffered at 
the foot of the cross, through love to him, 
added to his sorrows. Mary^ through 



96 COXSIDERATIOXS ON THE 

the pain which thou didst suffer at the 
death of Jesus, have pity on mc, and re- 
commend me to thy Son. Listen to Mm 
on the cross, recommendin.o: me to thne, in 
the person of St. John : " Woman, benold 
thy Son" — John xix. 6. 

And about the ninth hour, Jesus 
pried out with a loud yoice, saying : Eli, 
Eli, lamjna sabacthani ? that is, my God, 
my God, why hast thou forsaken me V — 
Mat. xxvii. 46. Jesus, agonizing on the 
cross, afflicted with pain of body and sad- 
ness of soul (for the sadness which 
assailed him in the garden, when he said : 
My soul is sorrowful unto death," did 
not leaye him until his last breath), seeks 
for some one to console him, but finds 
none. I looked for one who would 
grieye together with me, but there Ayas 
none ; and for one that would comfort me. 
and I found none" — Ps. Ixviii. 21. He 
looks at his mother, and, as has been said 
iier presence giyes him no consolation , 
the sight of her sorrows adds to his 
affliction. He looks about, and sees 
enemies on eyery side ; hence, finding 
himself bereft of every comfort, he turns 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 97 

to his eternal Father, to seek consolation. 
P>ut the Father, seeing him charged with 
the i^ins of all men, for which he was then 
a toning to the divine justice on the cross, 
abandons him to a deatli of pure unmixed 
pain. Then it was that Jesus cried out 
with a loud voice, to show the intensity 
of his sufferings, and said : " Mv God, 
why hast thou also forsaken me Hence 
the death of Jesus Christ was more pain- 
ful than the death of all the martyrs, 
because it was full of desolation and be 
reft of all comfort- 
But, my Jesus, why dost thou complain 
after having voluntarily offered thyself to 
go cruel a death? Ah! I understand 
thee ; thou dost complain in order to 
make us comprehend the intense paiu 
with which thou dost expire, and at the 
same time to encourage us to have confi- 
dence, and to practice resignation when 
we find ourselves in desolation and de- 
prived of the sensible aid of the divine 
grace. 

My sweet Redeemer, thy abandonment 
makes me hope that God, often as I have 
betrayed him, will not abandon me. 
7 



98 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

my Jesus, liow have 1 been able to live so 
long forgetful of tlice ? I tliank thee for 
not having forgotten me. Ah ! I entreat 
thee to remind me always of the desola- 
tion to which thou liast submitted for my 
sake, that I may never more forget thee 
and the love thou liast borne me. 

Knowing that his sacrifice was con- 
summated, the Saviour said that he was 
thirsty, and the soldiers applied to his 
mouth a sponge full of vinegar. " After- 
wards, Jesus knowing that all things were 
now accomplished, that the Scripture 

might be fulfilled, said : I thirst And 

they putting a sponge full of vinegar 
about hyssop, put it to his mouth " — John 
xix. 28, 29. The Scripture, which was to 
be fulfilled, is the text of David : And 
in my thirst they gave me vinegar to 
drink''— Ps. kviii. 22. But, Lord, 
thou art silent about the intense pains 
which hasten thy death, and dost thou 
complain of thirst ? Ah ! the thirst of 
Jesus was very different from that which 
we imagine it to be. His thirst is the 
desire of being loved by the souls for 
whom he dies. Thus my Jesus, thou dost 



PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 99 

tliirst after me, a miserable worm, and 
Bliall I not thirst after thee, who art an 
infinite good? Ah, I long for thee, I love' 
thee, I desire to please thee in all things. 
Assist me Lord, to banish from my 
heart all earthly desires, and grant that 
nothing may reign in me but the desire to 
please thee and to do tliy will. holy 
will of God — blessed fountain that dost 
fill enamoured souls, fill me also, and be 
the object of all my tlioughts and affec- 
tions. 

SECTION XVI. 

DEATH OF JESUS. 

The amiable Redeemer approaches the 
end of life. My soul, behold those eyes 
grow dim ; that beautiful countenance 
becomes pale ; that heart palpitates fee- 
bly ; that sacred body is abandoned to 
death. "Jesus, therefore, when he had 
taken the vinegar, said : It is consum- 
mated'' — John xix. 30. When on the 
point of expiring, Jesus placed before his 
eyes all the safferings of his life ; the 
poverty, fatigues, pains and injuries whici 



100* CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

he had suffered, and again offering them 
all to his Eternal Father, he said, all is 
now accomplished— all is consunnnated. 
All that the prophets foretold of me is 
consimimated ; in a word, the sacrifice 
•^'hich God expected in order to be ap- 
peased with the world, is perfectly con- 
siimm^ated, and full satisfaction is made 
to the divine justice. "It is consum- 
mated/' said Jesus, turning to his eternal 
Father : " It is consummated," he said, at 
the same time turning to us. As if he 
said : men, I have done all that I can 
do, in order to save your souls and to 
gain your love. I have done my part ; 
do you now do yours. Love me, and be 
not unwilling to love a God wlio has gone 
so far as to die for you. Ah, my Jesus, 
that I also, at the hour of my death, 
could say, at least for the part of mv life 
which yet remains. It is consummated. 
Lord, I have accomplished thy will : I 
have obeyed all thy wishes. Give me 
Btrengih, my Jesus, for with thy aid I 
purpose and tope to do thy will in all 
things. 

"And Jesus, ci'jing ^ith h loud voice^ 



102 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 



said : Father, into thy hands I commend 
my spirit" — Luke xxiii. 46. These were 
the last words which Jesus spoke on the 
2ross. Seeing that his blessed soul was 
about to be separated from his mangled 
body, he said, with perfect resignation to 
the divine will, and with filial confidence : 
Father, to thee I recommend my spirit. 
As if he said : My Father, I have no 
will, I do not wish either to live or die : 
if it is pleasing to thee that I continue 
to suffer on this cross, behold I am ready ; 
into thy hands I consign my spirit ; do 
with it what thou wilt. Oh! that wo 
also would say the same when we meet 
any cross ; leaving ourselves to be guided 
by the Lord in all things, according to 
his good pleasure. This, says St. Francis 
de Sales, is that holy abandonment in 
"rod which constitutes all perfection. We 
>ught to act in this manner particulaily 
at the hour of death ; but, in order to do 
it well then, we should practise it fre- 
quently during life. Yes, my Jesus, in 
thy hands I place my life and my death ; 
in thee I abandon myself entirely, and I 
recommend my soul to thee now for tha 



PASSION OP JE;5US CHRIST. lOB 

last moments of my life. Receive it into 
thy wounds, as tliy Father received thy 
spirit when thou didst expire on the 
cross. 

But behold, Jesus dies, angels of 
lieaven, come, come to assist at the death 
of your God ; and thou, sorrowful 
mother of God, approach nearer to the 
cross, raise thy eyes to behold thy Son ; 
look at him more steadfastly, for he is 
about to expire. Behold, the Redeemer 
already calls on death, and gives it per- 
mission to come and take away his life. 
death, he says, perform thy office ; 
take away my life and save my sheep. 
Behold, the earth trembles, the graves 
are opened, the veil of the Temple is rent 
in two ; behold, in fine, how the violence 
of his pains deprives the dying Lord of 
strength. Of the natural heat, of respi- 
ration ; his body is abandoned to death, 
he bows down his head on his breast, he 
opens his mouth, and expires. "And, 
bowing down his head, he gave up the 
the ghost" — John xix. 30. 

Go forth, beautiful soul of my Sa- 
viour, go forth ; go to open paradise, 



104 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

which has been hitherto shut against ns j 
go to present thyself to the divine Ma- 
jesty, and to obtain for us pardon and 
salvation. The crowd, turning to Jesus, 
on account of the loud voice in which he 
spoke these words, look at him with 
attention and in silence : they see him 
expire, and observing that he is motion- 
less, they exclaim : He is dead — ^lie is 
dead. Mary hears this from all the by- 
standers, and she also says : Ah, my Son, 
thou art dead. 

He is dead. God, who is dead ? 
The author of life, the only-begotten of 
God, the Lord of the world. death, 
which was the astonishment of heaven 
and of nature ! A God to die for his 
creatures ! infinite charity ! A God 
to sacrifice himself entirely ! To sacrifice 
his delights, his honour, his blood, his life ; 
and for whom ? for ungrateful creatures. 
And to die in a sea of sorrows and in- 
sults, and in order to atone for our sins. 

My soul, raise thy eyes, and behold that 
crucified Man-God. Behold that divine 
Lamb sacrificed on that altar of pain ; 
consider that he is the beloved Son of the 



PASSION OF JESI3S CHRIST. 105 



Eternal Father, and consider he has died 
throu2:h the love he has borne thee. See 
how his arms are stretched out to embrace 
thee : his head bowed down to give thee 
the kiss of peace ; his side opened to re- 
ceive thee. What dost thou say ? Does 
a God so good and so loving deserve to 
be loved ? Listen to what the Lord says 
to thee from the cross : My Son, see if 
there is any one in this world who has 
loved thee more than I, thy God, have 
loved thee. Ah, my God and my Re- 
deemer, thou then hast died, and died a 
death the most infamous and painful, and 
why ? to gain my love. But what love 
of a creature can ever compensate the 
love of his Creator, who has died for 
him ? my adored Jesus, love of my 
soul, how shall I be ever able to forget 
thee ? How shall I be able to love any 
thing but thee, after having seen thee dy- 
ing through pain on this cross, in order 
to atone for my sins and to save my soul ? 
flow can I behold thee dead, hanging on 
this tree, and not love thee with all my 
strength ? Can I think that my sins have 
reduced tliee to this condition, and not 



106 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 

weep always with intense sorrow for the 
offences I have committed against thee ? 

God, had the vilest of all men suf- 
fered for me what Jesus Christ has suf- 
fered ] had I beheld a man torn with 
scourges, fastened to a cross, and made 
the laughing-stock of the people in order 
to save mv life, could I remember his suf- 
ferings without feeling for him the ten- 
derest affection ? And were the likeness 
of my expiring lover brought before me, 
could I behold it with indifference, and 
say : Oh ! the miserable man has died 
thus in torture for the love of me ? Had 
he not loved me he would not have died 
for me. Alas, how many Christians keep 
a beautiful crucifix in their room, but only 
as a fine piece of furniture. They praise 
the workm.anship and the expression of 
grief, but it makes as little impression on 
their hearts as if it were not the image 
of the incarnate Word, but of a man who 
was a stranger and unknown to him. 

Ah, my Jesus, do not permit me to be 
one of them. Remember that thou didst 
promise that when thou wouldst be ele- 
vated on the cross, thou wouldst draw all 



PASSION OP JESUS CHRIST. 107 

hearts to thee. Behold, my heart, soft- 
ened into tenderness by thy death, will 
no longer resist thy calls. Ah, dra^ all 
its affections to thy love. Thou hast died 
for me, and I wish to live only for thee. 
sorrows of Jesus, ignominies of Je- 
sus, O death of Jesus, love of Jesus, 
may you be fixed in my heart, and may 
the sweet remembrance of you remain 
there for ever, to wound me continually, 
and to inflame me with love. 

eternal Father, behold Jesus dead 
for my sake, and througli the merits of 
this Son, shew me mercy. My soul, be 
not diffident on account of the sins thou 
hast committed against God. It is the 
Father himself that has given the Son to 
the world for our salvation, and it is the 
Son that has voluntarily offered himself 
to atone for our sins. Ah, my Jesus, since 
to pardon me thou hast not spared thy- 
self, behold me with the same affection 
with which thou didst one day behold me, 
ag mizing for me on the cross. Behold 
me and enlighten me ; and pardon parti- 
cularly my past ingratitude to thee, irj 
thinking so little on thy passion, and on 



108 OONSIDERATIOKS ON THE 

tlie love thon hast shewn me in thy snf 
fei'ings. I thank thee for the light which 
thou givest me, in making me see in these 
wounds and lacerated members, as through 
so many lattices, thy great and tender af- 
fection for me. 

Unhappy me, if, after this light, I should 
neglect to love thee, or if I loved any- 
thing out of thee. May I die (I will say 
with the enamoured St. Francis of Assis- 
sium) for the love of thee, my Jesus., 
who hast condescended to die for the love 
of me. pierced heart of my Redeemer, 
blessed dwelling of loving souls, do 
not disdain to receive also my miserable 
soul. Mary, mother of sorrows, re- 
commend me to thy Son, whom thou dost 
hold lifeless in thy arms. Behold his lac- 
erated flesh, behold his divine blood shed 
for me, and see in them how pleasing it is 
to him that thou shouldst recommend my 
salvation to him. My salvation consists 
in loving him ; this love thou hast to ob- 
tain for me, but let it be a great and eter- 
nal love. 

Commenting on the words of St. Paul^ 
^ The charity of Christ presseth us," St 



PASfelON OP JESUB CHRIST. 109' 

Francis de Sales says : " Since we know 
that Jesus, the true God, has loved us so 
as to suffer death, and the death of the 
cross, for our salvation, must not our 
hearts be under a press which squeezes 
and forces love from them by a violence, 
which is strong in proportion as it is 
amiable?^' The saint afterwards says 
that " the hill of Calvary is the mountain 
of lovers/' He then adds : ^* Ah, why, 
then, do we not cast ourselves on Jesus' 
crucified, in order to die on the cross with 
him who has voluntarily died upon it for 
the love of us ? I will hold him, we ought 
to say, and will never forsake him ; I will 
die with him, and will burn in the flames 
of his love. One and the same fire shall 
consume this divine Creator and his mis- 
erable creature. My Jesus gives himself 
to me, and I give myself entirely to him. 
I will live and die on his bosom ; neither 
life nor death shall separate me from him. 

" O eternal love, my soul seeks thee, and 
chooses thee for eternity. Ah ! come, 0- 
Holy Ghost, and inflame our hearts with 
the love of thee. Either to love or to 
die. To die to every other love, in ordei 



110 CONSIDERATIONS ON THl; 

to Kve to that of Jesus. Savioiu* of 
our souls, grant that we may sing for 
eternity : Live Jesus ; I love Jesus ; live 
Jesus, whom I love; I love Jesus, who 
lives for ever and ever. 

Let us, in conclusion, say : Lamb of 
God, who hast sacrificed thyself for our 
salvation ! victim of love, who hast 
been consumed by sorrows on the cross ! 
Oh ! that I knew how to love thee as thou 
dost deserve to be loved ! that I could 
die for thee, who hast died for me ! By 
my sins I have been a cause of pain to 
thee during thy entire life ; grant that I 
may please thee during the remainder of 
my life, living only to thee, my love, my 
all. Mary, my mother, thou art my 
hope after Jesus ; obtain for me the grace 
to love Jesus, 



It was about the year 1233 that seven holj 
men of noble birth, by name Bonfiglio, Monal- 
dio, Bonagiimta, Manetto, Amadeo, Uguccio, 
and Alessio Falconieri, withdrew from the city 
of Florence into the solitude of Mount Sena- 
rio, aftewards receiving from the Church the 
apellation of the " Seven Blessed Founders.'- 
For it was in that solitude that, passing their 
days in the constant exercise of prayer, peni- 
tence, and other virtues, they, by a special rev- 
elation from the Blessed Yirgin, instituted the 
Order called " Servants of Mary," taking for 
the object of their institution, meditation on 
the bitter pains she sufleredin the Life, Passion, 
and Death of her Son Jesus, and undertaking 
to promulgate this devotion amongst Christian 
people. One of the devout practices which 
they made use of for their purpose was a Chap- 
let or Rosary of Seven Divisions, in remem- 
brance of the seven principal Dolours of the 
Blessed Yirgin, which were to form the subject 
of the reciter's meditation according to his 
ability; the prayers to be said during such 
meditation being one PtUer mster and seven 
A'oe Maria for each division, with three more 
Ave Maria at the end of all, in honour of the 

am 



112 CHAPLET OP THE SEVEN DOLOURS. 



tears sliecl by tlie same most holy Virgin in he? 
Dolours. 

This devout prayer, so acceptable to our 
most lioly Sorrowful Mother, and so useful to 
Christian souls, was propagated throughout the 
Christian world by these Servants of Mary ; 
and it afterwards received much encourage- 
ment from Pope Benedict XIII., who, in ordei 
to induce more of the faithful to adopt it, 
granted, bv his Brief Reclempt&ris^ of Septem- 
ber 26, 1724— 

i. The Indulgence of 200 days, for every 
Pater noster^ and the same for every Ave Maria^ 
to every one who, having Confessed and Com- 
municated, or at least made a firm resolution 
to Confess, should say this Cliaplet in the 
churches of the Order of the Servants of Mary. 

ii. The same Indulgence of 200 days 
may be gained by saying it everywhere on Fri- 
days, and — 

iii. The Indulgence of 100 days, on any 
other day ; and lastly the same Pope added — 

iv. The Indulgence of seven years anp 
SEVEN quarantines to any one who says this 
Chaplet either alone or in company with oth- 
ers. 

Afterwards Pope Clement XII., "that the 
faithful might often recollect and sympathise 
with the Dolours of Mary,'^ confirmed by hia 
Bull of Unigeniti^ 'December 12, 1734, the be- 
fore-named Indulgences, adding also the fol 
lowing : 



OHAPLET OP THE SEVEN DOLOURS. 113 



V. Tete Plenary Indulgence and remission 
of all sins to every one who shall say this 
Chaplet daily for a month together, and shall 
then, after having Confessed and Communi- 
cated, pray for Holy Church, etc. 

vi. The Indulgence of 100 years, every 
time it is said, to all who say this Chaplet, be- 
ing truly penitent and having Confessed, or 
having at least a firm resolution to Confess. 

vii. The Indulgence of 150 years, every 
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Feast of Ob- 
ligation of the Holy Church, after having Con- 
fessed and Communicated. 

viii. The Plenary Indulgence to all who 
say it four times a week, on any one day in the 
year when, after having Confessed and Com- 
municated, they shall say the said Chaplet of 
Seven Dolours. 

ix. The Indulgence of 200 years* also to 
those who shall say it devoutly after their 
Confession. 

X. The Indulgence of ten years to those 
who keep one of these Chaplets about them, 
and are in the habit of saymg it frequently, 
every time that, after having Confessed and 
Communicated, they shall hear Mass, be present 
at a sermon, accompany the Blessed Sacrament 
to the sick, make peace between enemies, bring 

♦ In some summaries of these Indulgencies, any more par- 
ticularly in thac reprinted in Eome in 1818, we read 200 days, 
and a few lines above 150 days; but in the Bull above named^ 
published at the Office of the Eeverend Apostolic Chamber 
'a 17;^5, we read in both places not days but years. 

8 



114 CHAPLET OF THE SEVEN DOLOURS. 



Binners to Confession, &c., &c. ; or whenever, 

saying at the same time seven Pater noster and 
seven Ave Maria^ tliey shall do any spiritual or 
temporal good work in honour of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, or their Patrot 
Saint. 

All these Indulgences were confirmed by de- 
crees of the S. Congr. of Indulgences issued at 
the command oi Pope Benedict XIY. on Jan- 
uary 16, 1747, and Clement XIIL, March 15, 
1763. It is, however, requisite, in order to gain 
these Indulgences, that these Chaplets should 
be blessed by the Superiors of the Order of the 
Servants of Mary, or by other priests of the 
Order deputed by them ; and when blessed, 
they cannot be sold or lent for the purpose of 
communicating these Indulgences to others, in 
which case they would be deprived of their 
blessing. See the above-named Brief of Bene- 
dict XIIL 

WAY OF SATING THE CHAPLET. 

Act of Contrition. 
Saviour, my sole and only love, see me 
before Thy Divine Presence standing all 
confusion by reason of the many grievous 
injuries I have done Thee. With my 
whole heart I ask Thy pardon for them ; 
repenting of them out of Thy pure love, 
ar.d at the thought of Thy great goodness 



CHAPLET OF THE SEVEJT DOLOURS. 115 

hating and loathing them above every 
other evil of this life. I would that 1 
liad died a thousand times ere ever I had 
offended Thee ; but now most firmly am- 
I resolved rather to lose my life by every 
death than offend Thee again. My Je- 
sus crucified, I firmly purpose to cleanse 
my soul forthwith by Thy most Precious 
Blood in the Sacrament of Penance. And 
thou, most tender Virgin, Mother of Mer- 
cy and Refuge of the sinner, do thou by 
thy bitter pains obtain for me the pardon 
of sins ; whilst I, praying according to 
the mind of so many holy Pontiffs for the 
indulgences granted to this holy Rosary 
of thine, hope thereby to obtain remis- 
sion of all pains due to my many sins. 

i. With this trust laid up within my 
heart, I begin my meditation on the First 
Sorrow, when Mary, Yirgin Mother of 
my God, presented Jesus, her only Son, 
in the Temple, laid Him in the arms of 
holy aged Simeon, and heard his word of 
prophecy, " This thy Son shall be a sword 
of pain to pierce thine own heart,'' fore- 
telling thereby the Passion and Death of 
her Son Jesus, 



116 CHAPLET OF THE SEVEN DOLOURS. 



One Pater noster and seven Ave Maria. 

ii. The Second Sorrow of the Blessed 
Virgin was when he had to fly into Egypt 
by reason of the persecution of cruel Her- 
od, who impiously sought to slay her well- 
beloved Son. 

One Pater noster and seven Ave Maria. 

iii. The TMrd Sorrow of the Blessed 
Virgin was when, after having gone up 
to Jerusalem at the Paschal Feast with 
Joseph her spouse and Jesus her beloved 
Son, she lost Him on Iier return to her 
poor house, and for three days bewailed 
the loss of her sole-beloved One. 

One Pater noster and seven Axe Maria. 

iv. The FourtJi Sorrow of the Blessed 
Virgin was when she met her most loving 
Son Jesus carrying on His tender shoul- 
ders the heavy cross whereon he was to 
be crucified for om* salvation. 

One Pater noster and seven Ave Maria, 

V. The Fifth Sorrow of the Blessed 
Virgin was when she saw her Son Jesus 
♦'aise^d upon the cross's tree, and all His 



CHAPLET OF THE SEVEN DOLOURS. 117 

Sacred Body pour forth Bl jl^:: ; and then, 
after three long hours' agony, beheld Him 
die. 

One Pater noster and seven Ave Maria. 

vi. The Sixth Sorrow of the Blessed 
Virgin was when she saw the lance 
cleave the Sacred Breast of Jesus, her 
beloved Son, and then received His Holy 
Body laid in her purest bosom. 

One Pater noster and seven Ave Maria. 

vii. The Seventh and last Sorrow of 
the Blessed Virgin, Queen and Advocate 
of us her servants, miserable sinners, was 
when she saw the Holy Body of her Son 
buried in the grave. 

One Pater nostra and seven Ave Maria. 

Then say three Ave Maria in veneration of the 
tears ichich Mary shed in her sorrows^ to oUain 
thereby true sorrow for sins and tlie holy Indul- 
gences attaclied to this pious exercise, 

V. Pray for us, Virgin most sorrowfuL 
B. That we may be made v^orthy of 
the promises of Christ 



118 ONE HOUR S PEAYER IN THE YEAR. 



Let US pray. 

Grant, we beseech Thee, Lord Je^us 
Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Ma- 
ry, Thy Mother, may intercede for ns 
before the throne of Thy mercy, now and 
at the hour of our death, through whose 
most holy soul in the hour of Thine own 
Passion the sword of sorrow passed. 
Througli Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of 
the world, who liveth and reignest with 
the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever 
and ever. Amen. 



®ut Jmf^ Irapr in th fear. 

Pope Clement XII., by a decree of the S. 
Congr. of Indulgences, Feb. 4, 1736, and Bene- 
dict XIY., by another decree of July 14, 1757, 
granted — 

The Plenaky Indulgence, once in the year, 
to all the faithful who on any one day should, 
after haying Confessed and Communicated, 
make one hour's prayer in honour of most li )ly 
Mary sorrowing ; calling to mind her sorrows, 
saying the Cliaplet of them, or other prayers 
adapted to this devotion. Pope Pius V^I., of 
blessed memory, granted this Indulgence t^fr esr. 
and confirmed it for ever, July 8, 1785. 



/ 



THE HOUR OR HALF-HOUR, ETC. lit 



In order to engage the faithful to endeavoui 
fco give an increase of consolation to most holy 
Mary in her desolation, Pius VII., by two 
Rescripts, given through the Segretaria of the 
Memorials, Feb. 25 and March 21, 1815, kept 
In tlie Segretaria of his Eminence the Cardinal- 
Vicar, granted — • 

i. The Plenary Indulgence to all those 
who, from three o'clock on Good Friday until 
midday on Holy Saturday (the hour on that 
day w^hen the Holy Church invites the faithful 
to rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ), 
shall, either in public or in private, keep one 
hour, or at least half an hour, in honour of 
most holy Mary in desolation, by meditating 
on her seven dolours, saying the Chaplet of her 
Dolours, or any other prayers having reference 
to her desolation. This Indulgence is gained 
when, by Confession and Communion, they 
satisfy the precept of Paschal Communion. 

ii. The Indulgence of 300 days, on other 
Fridays, w^henever, between three o'clock on 
that day and the dawn of Sunday, they prac- 
tise this devotion. 

iii. The Plenary Indulgence each month 
to all who have practised it every week in the 
month, provided that they Confess and Com 



120 SHORT PRAYER TO THi] VIRGIN. 



municate on one of the last days of tMs de- 
votion. 

All these Indulgences are confirmed by the 
game . Pope Pius VII. for ever, through the S. 
Congr. of Indulgences, June 18, 1822. 

ill f er ge$0lati0it. 

His Holiness our Sovereign Lord, Pope Pius 
rX., V>y a decree of the S. Congr. of Indul 
gences, of Dec. 28, 1847, vouchsafed to grant — 

The Ixdulgexce of 100 days to all the 
faithful, every time they say with contrite 
heart, the following prayer in honour of the 
most holy Virgin in her desolatioR : 

Hail Mary, Ml of sorrows, the Cruci- 
fied is with tiiee : tearful art thou amongst 
women, and tearful is tlie fruit of thy 
womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of the 
Crucified, give tears to us, crucifiiers of 
thy Son, now and at the hour of our 
death. Amen. 



^It Mz^ of ilt 1^ol2 Cross. 

To engage the faithful to visit the Holy Land 

and the places sanctified by the presence of our 
Blessed Saviour, many and ample indulgences were 
granted by the Popes to all who should undertake 
this pilgrimage. 

But when these sacred places again fell into the 
hands of the infidels, and it became morally impos- 
sible to visit them, the Pope sanctioned the forma- 
tion of representations thereof; and bestowed upon 
all who should visit these symbols in a spirit of 
faith, and in memory of the mysteries of our Re- 
demption, the same indulgences which would be 
gaii>ed. by visiting the Holy Land. 

The Friars Minor of the Order of St. Francis 
being established at Jerusalem about the year 1342, 
and having the office of protecting the holy places, 
endeavored to enkindle a veneration for them, first 
in Italy, and afterwards throughout the whole 
world, by erecting, particularly ii their churches, 
stations to the number of fourteen, which they 
termed the Way of the Cross; because they repre- 
sented the path traversed by our Redeemer laden 
with his Cross, from the house of Pilate to Mount 
Calvary, and the Holy Sepulchre. 

Innocent IX. approved of this devotion, and con 
I'erred upon all the monks and nuns of the Order 
of St. Francis the indulgences of the Holy Land, 
by a brief dated Sept. 5, 1686. Innocent XII. con- 
firmed this brief by another, dated Dec. 24, 1692; 
ftud by a second of Dec. 26, 1695. 

Benedict XIII. rendered these indulgences appli- 
cable to the souls in purgatory, in the brief Inter 
plurima, March 3, 1726, and permitted that all the 



122 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



faithful without exception, who should perform this 
devotion at the Friars Minor, where it was estab- 
lished, should derive the same advantages as th6 
monks themselves. This was confirmed by Cle- 
ment XII., Jan. 16, 1731. 

Conditions required for gaining these Indulgences. 

To gain the Indulgences of the Way of the Cross, 
It is necessary to visit the stations really; in other 
words, to go from one to the other. However near 
the pictures or crosses may be, it would not suffice 
merely to look upon one after the other from the 
same spot. This could not be properly termed the 
Way of the Cross — an imitation of Jesus Christ 
proceeding to Calvary. But if, on account of the 
great concourse of people, a person could not go 
from one station to another, it would suffice to 
kneel and rise to each station, and to turn towards 
each cross or picture. SucL is the teaching at 
Rome. 

It is, moreover, necessary to visit each station 
with piety and devotton, meditating on each mys- 
tery, and praying mentally or vocally. No prayers 
are specified, and consequently none are necessary, 
according to a declaration of the Congregation of 
Indulgences, Aprils, 1731. But it is the custom 
for those who cannot read, to say five " Our Fa- 
ther's,'^ and five "Hail Mary's;'^ for those who 
can read, one One Father,'' and one ''Hail Mary" 
and " Grloria Patri," with one or two stanzas of 
the ^' Str'.oat Mater," and a prayer appropriate to 
each mystery. The prayers contained in this little 
book, composed to assist pious souls in performing 
the Way of the Cross, may be used with safety. 

The Way of the Cross may be performed either 
^ivately or solemnly. Every one can perform \i 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



123 



Bingly in the church where it is established, use 
whatever prayers he pleases, and consecrate as 
much time to the devotion as he pleases, provided 
that he meditates piously on each of the fourteen 
mysteries. When this exercise is perfonned so- 
lemnly, a priest officiates, and walks from one sta- 
tion to another in procession preceded by the cross; 
a verse of the "Stabat Mater and a verse of the 
••Miserere are sunp: alternately. At each station 
the priest makes a short exhortation, followed by 
an "Our Father"' and "Hail Mary,"' or by a few 
moments' meditation. When the number of people 
is great, it is not necessary that they should follow 
the procession, but merely that they should kneel 
and rise to each station. Or the priest may mount 
the pulpit, whilst others go in procession from sta- 
tion to station. 



Indulgencti for the Side, and others who cannot visit the 
Stations. 

Persons who are sick, infirm, in prison, at sea, or 
in infidel countries, and generally all who are phy- 
sically or morally incapable of visiting the stations, 
may gain the same indulgences, by having a small 
brass cross blessed for this purpose, and saying 
fourteen "Our Father's" and fourteen "Hail 
Mary's," one for each station, and five more with 
the " Gloria Patri " at the end; and then one " Our 
Father" and one "Hail Mary" for the Pope, and 
holding the cross during the whole time, (Raccoltay 
p. 104). This grant was made by Clement XIV., 
January 26, 1773. 

But the privilege of thus gaining the indulgen- 
ces attached to this devotion ceases, or is sus* 
pended, as soon as the persons are capable of visit' 
ing a place where the stations have been erected. 



124 THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



.MANNER OF PRACTISING THIS EXERCISE. 
Let each one kneeling before the Altar, make 
an Act of Contrition, 
and form the intention of gaining the Indulgences, 
whether for himself or for the souls in Purgatory. 

AN ACT OF CONTRITION. 

God, we love thee with our whole hearts 
and above all things, and are lieartily sorry 
that we have offended thee. May we never 
offend thee any more. Oh, may we love 
thee without ceasing, and make it oar de-' 
light to do in all things thy most holy will. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. 

Let us Pray. 

My Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast made 
this journey to die for me with love unutter- 
able, and I have so many times unworthily 
abandoned Thee; but now I love Thee with 
my whole heart, and repent sincerely for 
having ever offended Thee. Pardon me, my 
God, and permit me to accompany Thee on 
this jt)urney. Thou goest to die for love of 
me ; 1 wish also, my belov.ed Redeemer, to 
die for love of Thee. My Jesus, I will live 
and die always united to Thee. 

Jesus, for the love of me, 

You came to die on Calvary; 

Let me, Jesus, follow too, 

That I may suffer, dear Lord, with yoa. 



THl WAY OF THE CROSS. 



126 




WAY OF THE HOLY CROSS. 

In the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. 

Blessed be the Holy and undivided Trinity, 
now and for ever more. Amen. 

V. Thou slialt open my lips, Lord. 

R. And my mouth shall show forth Thy 
praise. 

y. God, come to my assistance. 

R. Lord make haste to help me. 

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the 
Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 

R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and 
ever shall be, world without end. 

^. Amen. 



In making the following Stations, we gain tlw 
Bame Indulgences as if they were made at Jeru- 
Balem, on the r ery epot where our Saviour sufifered. 




JESUS 13 CONDE\IXED TO DEATH. 

f. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bkes 

thy holy name. 
1^ Because by thy holy Gross thou hast redeemed 

the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS 127 



FIRST STATION. 
Consider how elesus, after having been 
Bcourged, and crowned with thorns, was 
unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the 
Cross. 

My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate ; 
no, it was my sins that condemned Thee to 
die. I beseech Thee, by the merits of this 
sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in her 
journey towards eternity. I love Thee, my 
beloved Jesus ; I love Thee more than my- 
self ; I repent with my whole heart of having 
offended Thee. Never permit me to sepa- 
rate myself from Thee again. Grant that I 
may love Thee alv^-ays ; and then do with 
me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be. etc. 

^. Have mercy on us, O Lord. J^. Have mercy 
oil us. 

^. May the souls of the faithful departed, 
through the mercy of God rest in peace. 
Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) A verse of the Slabai Mater is sung 
or said, or. Jesus for the love of me, etc. 

At the cross her station keeping, 
Stood the mournful mother weeping, 
Close to Jesus to the last. 

If many persons perform t)ie Via Crucis, the priests or om 
part of tlie peoi>l(\ may King the verses in order, and th# 
rest of the poople repeat after each verse : 

Holy Mother, pierce me through. 
In my heart each wound renew 
Of my Saviour crucified. 
Or Ibis verse alone may be sung after each Statioa. 



Suflub Elation. 




JESUS TAKES THE CROSS ON HIS SHOULDERS. 



j?. "We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and hle?^ 

thy holy name. 
^. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeeinesJ 

the worfd. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 129 



SECOND STATION. 

Consider how Jesus, in making this jour- 
ney with the cross on his shoulders, thought 
on us, and oiFered for us to His Father the 
death He was about to undergo. 

My most beloved Jesus! I embrace all the 
tribulations Thou hast destined for me until 
death. I beseech Thee, by the merits of the 
pain Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross, 
to give me the necessary help to carry mine 
with perfect patience and resignation. I 
love Thee, Jesus my love, above all things; 
I repent with my whole heart of having 
offended Thee, ^s"eve^ permit me to sepa- 
rate myself from Thee again. Grant that 
I may love Thee always, and then do with 
me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

't. Have mercy on us, Lord. p?. Have mercy 
on us. 

f. May the souls of the faithful departedj 
t>»'ough the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
H. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Through her heart, his sorrow sharing. 
All his bitter anguish bearing, 
Now at length the sword has passed. 

Hj Mother, etc., or, Jesus for the lore of me. et«. 



f Hrb f t:itioit. 

■J 




JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TDIE UXTER THE CROSS 



f". We adore thee. Lord Jesus Christ, and blois 

thv holy name, 
p. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

the wcrld. 



THE WAT /'IF CROSS. 



131 



THIRD STATION. 

. Consider this first ftJl of Jesus under Hig 
Cross. His llcsh was torn by the scourges, 
His head crowned with thorns, and He had 
lost a great quantity of blood. He was so 
weakened He could scarcely walk, and yet 
He had to carry this great load upon His 
shoulders. The soldiers struck Him rudely, 
and thus He fell several times. 

My Jesus, it is not the weight of the 
Cross, but of my sins, which has made Thee 
suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of 
this first fall, deliver me from the misfor- 
tune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, 
ray Jesus; I repent with my whole heart 
of having offended Thee. Never permit me 
to separate myself from Thee again. Grant 
that I may love Thea always; and then do 
with me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

1^. Hj've mercy on us, Lord. 1^. Have mer- 
cy on us. 

f. May the pouls of the faithful departed 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace, 
pr. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Oh, how sad and sore distressed 
AVas tliat mother highly blest 
Of the sole begotten-one ! 
Holy Mother, etc., or, Jesus for the love of me, ete. 




JESUS SIEETS HIS MOST AFIXICTED MOTHER 



t We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and bless 

thy holy name, 
p-'. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

tne world. 



THE WAY OF THb CROSS. 

FOURTH STATION. 

Consider the meeting of the Son and the 
Mother, which took place on this journey. 
Their looks became as so many arrows to 
wound those hearts which loved each other 
so tenderly. 

My sweet Jesus, by the sorrow Thou 
didst experience in this meeting, grant me 
the grace of a truly devoted love for Thy 
most Holy Mother. And thou my Queen, 
who wast overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain 
for me by thy intercession a continual and 
tender remembrance of the passion of thy 
Son. I love Thee, Jesus my love, above 
all things; I repent of ever having offended 
Thee. Never permit me to separate myself 
from Thee again. Grant that I may love 
Thee always; and then do with me what 
Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

i^. Have mercy on us, Lord. p. Have mercy 
on us. 

ir. May the souls of the faithful deparbt^i- 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
^. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Christ above in torment hangs, 
She beneath beholds the pangs 
Of her dying glorious Son. 

Hdj Mother, etc., or, Jesus for the love of ww, titOt 



iUi\ -I- station* 




JESUS IS ASSISTED IN CaRRYIXG HIS CROSS BY 
SIMON OF CYRENE. 



f. We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and bleee 

thy holy name. 
1^. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

tlie world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 

FIFTH STATION. 

Consider how the Jews, seeiug that at 
each step Jesus was on the point of expir- 
ing, and fearing He would die on the way, 
when thej wished Him to die the ignominious 
death of the cross, constrained Simon the Gy- 
renian to carry the cross behind our Lord. 

My most beloved Jesus, I will not refuse 
the cross as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I 
embrace it. I accept in particular the death 
Thou hast destined for me, with all the pains 
which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy 
death, I offer it to Thee. Thou hast died 
for love of me; I will die for love of Thee. 
Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus 
my love, above all things; I repent with 
my whole heart of having offended Thee. 
Never permit me to separate myself from 
Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee 
always; and then do with me what Thou wilt 
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. ' 

1^. Have mercy on us, O Lord. 9^. Have mercy 
oa us. 

f". May the souls of the faithful departed 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
9^. Amen. 

(An Act of Coutrition.) 

Is there one who would not weep, 
Whelm'd in miseries so deep 
Christ's dear Mother to behold 2 
Holy Mother, etc, or, Jesus for the \ov^ of me» ata. 




VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS. 



We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and blett 
thy holy name. 
^. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 
the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



137 



SIXTH STATION. 

Consider bow the holy woman named Ye* 
ronica, seeing Jesus so ill-used, and His face 
bathed in sweat and blood, presented llim 
with a towel, -with which He wiped His 
adorable face, leaving on it the impression of 
His holy countenance. 

My most beloved Jesus, Thy face was 
beautiful before, but in this journey it has 
lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood 
have disfigured it. Alas I my soul also v\^as 
once beautiful, when it received Thy grace 
in baptism; but I have disfigured it since 
by my sins: Thou alone, my Redeemer, canst 
restore it to its former beauty. Do this by 
Thy passion, O Jesus. I repent with my 
whole heart of having offended Thee. Xever 
permit me to separate myself from Thee 
again. Grant that I may love Thee always; 
und then do with me w^hat Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

if. Have mercy on us, O Lord. p. Have mercy 
on us. 

if. May the souls of the faithful departed, 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
J^. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Can the human heart refrain 
From partaking in her pain. 
In that Mother's pain untold? 
Holy Mother, etc., or» Jesus for the love of rae, cia 




3ESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS THE SECOND TIME. 



f. We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and blesa 

thy holy name. 
P?. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

the world- 



TEE "WAY OF THE CROSS. 139 

SEVE>fTH STATION. 

Consider the second fall of Jesus undef 
the Cross ; a fall which renews the pain of 
all the wounds of His head and members. 

My most sweet Jesus, how many times 
Thou hast pardoned me, and how many 
times, have I fallen again, and begun again 
to offend Thee ! Oh ! by the merits of this 
second fall, give me the necessary helps to 
persevere in Thy grace until death. Grant 
that in all temptations which assail me I 
may always commend myself to Thee. I 
love Thee, Jesus my love, above all things ; 
I repent with my whole heart of having 
offended Thee. Kever permit me to sepa- 
rate myself from Thee again. Grant that i 
may love Thee always ; and then dc with 
me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, &c. 

f". Have mercy on us, Lord. J^. Have mercy 
on us. 

'f'. May the souls of the faithful departed 
tlirough the mercy of God rest in peace. 
9?. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Bruis'd. derided, curs'd, defiPd, 
She beheld her tender Child 
All with bloody scourges rent. 



Holy Mother, *tc. , or Jesus for the love of me. 



JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEil, 

WHO FOLLOWED HIMj A>'D WEPT OVER EDI. 



t. e adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and blesii 

thy holy name, 
pj. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 14 J 



EIGHTH mTm. 

Consider how those women wept with 
compassion at seeing Jesus in such a piti- 
ftble state, streaming with blood, as He 
walked along. My children," said He, 

weep not for Me, but for your children/' 

My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep 
for the ofifences I have committed against 
Thee, because of the pains they have de- 
served, and still more because of the dis- 
pleasure they ha 76 caused Thee, who hast 
loved me so much. It is Thy love, more 
than the fear of hell, which causes me to 
weep for my sins. My Jesus, I love Thee, 
more than myself ; I repent with my whole 
heart of having offended Thee. Never per- 
mit me to separate myself from Thee -again. 
Grant that I may love Thee always; and 
then do with me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

1^. Have mercy on us, Lord. 9^. Have mercy 
on us. 

1^. May the souls of the faithful departed, 
rough the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
Pr. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

For the sins of his own nation 
She saw him hang in desolation, 
Till his spirit forth is sent. 

Hcly Mother, etc., or, Jesus for the love of me, etfr 




JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS THE THIRD TIME 



f. Vi'e adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and ble« 

thy holy name, 
pr. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeon>ed 

the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



14B 



NINTH STATION. 

Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ 
Mis weakness was extreme, and the cruelty 
of His executioners excessive, who tried to 
hasten His steps when He could scarcely 
move. 

Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of 
the weakness Thou didst suffer in going to 
Calvary, give me strength sufficient to con- 
quer all human respect, and all my wicked 
passions, which have led me to despise Thy 
friendship. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, 
above all things ; I repent Vv^ith my whole 
heart of having offended Thee. Never per- 
mit me to separate myself from Thee again. 
Grant that I may love Thee always ; and 
then do with me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, et€, 

'f'. Have mercy on us, O Lord. pr. Have mer- 
cy on us. 

f. May the souls of the faithful departedi, 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
9f. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

O thou Mother, fount of love ! 
Touch my spirit from above, 
Make my heart with thine accerd. 



Holy Mother, etc., or, Jesus for the love of me, ate. 




JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS. 



i We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and blees 
thy holy name. 
Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 
the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



TENTH STATION. 

Consider the violence with which the exe- 
cutioners stripped Jesus. His inner gar- 
ments adhered to His torn flesh, and they 
dragged them off so roughly that the skia 
came with them. Compassionate your Sa- 
viour thus cruelly treated. 

My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the 
torment Thou hast felt, help me to strip my- 
self of all affections to things of earth, in. 
order that I may place all my love in Thee, 
who art so worthy of my love. I love Thee,, 
O Jesus, above all things; I repent with my 
whole heart of having offended Thee. Never 
permit me to sparate myself from Thee again. 
Grant that I may love Thee always ; and 
then do with me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

^. Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy 
on us. 

^. May the souls of the faithful departed^ 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
^. Amen. 

(An Act of tfentrition.) 

Make me feel as thou hast felt ; 
Make my soul to glow and melt 
With the love of Christ my Lord. 



Holy Mother, etc. , or, Jesus for the love of mo, «te. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



147 



ELEVENTH smm. 

Consider liow Jesus, after being thrown 
Qn the Cross, extended His hands, and of- 
fered to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of 
His life for our salvation. These barbarians 
fastened Him with nails, and then, securing 
the Cross, aliov/ed Him to die with anguish 
cn'this infamous gibbet. 

My Jesus, loaded with contempt, nail my 
heart to Thy feet, that it may ever remain 
tliere, to love Thee, and never quit Thee 
again. I love Thee more than myself; I 
repent with my whole heart of having of- 
fended Thee. IS'ever permit me to separate 
myself from Thee again. Grant that I may 
love Thee always ; and then do with me 
what Thou wilt. 
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc, 

f". Have mercy on us, Lord. 9?. Have raerc> 
on us. 

f. May the souls of the faithful departe<i, 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
Pr. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Holy Mother, pierce me through; 
In ray heart each wound renew 
Of my Saviour crucified. 
Holy Mother, el or, Jesus foi the love of rae, cto. 



f toting 3iKiuv, 




JESUS EXPIRES OX THE CROSS. 



^. We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and bleai 

thy holy name. 
^. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemeO 

the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



TWELFTH STATION. 

Consic.lcr how Jesus, after three hours' 
a^oiiy on tlie Cross, consumed with an^^uish, 
abandoned Himself to tlie weight of Hia 
body, bowed His head, and died. 

O my dyinp: Jesus, I kiss devoutly the Crosa 
on which Thou didst die for love of me. I 
have merited by my sins to die a miserable 
deatli, but Thy deatli is my hope. Ah I by 
the merits of Thy death, give me grace to die 
embracing Thy feet, and burning with love 
to Thee. 1 commit my soul into Thy hands. 
I love Thee, O Jesus, above all things; Ire- 
pent of ever havint): offended Thee. Permit 
not that I ever offend Thee again. Grant 
that I may love Thee always; and then do 
with me what Thou wilt. 
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

^. Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy 
on us. 

"f. May the souls of the faithful departe<3, 
through tiie mercy of God, rest in peace. 
15? Amen. 

(An Act of ConlritioR.) 

Let me share with thee his pain, 
Who for all my sins was slain, 
Who for mo in torments died. 



fiolj in)Uier, etc., or. Jesus for the love of me, ete» 



®I]irtf entb ^-Station* 




JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS. 



We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and bless 
thy holy name, 
p. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 
the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



151 



THIRTEENTH -I- STAIION. 

Consider how our Lord, having expired, 
fwo of His disciples, Joseph and JS'icode- 
Diiis, took Him down from the Cross, and 
placed Him in the arms of His afflicted 
Mother, who received Him with unutterable 
tenderness, and pressed Him to her bosom. 

Mother of sorrow, for the love of this 
Son, accept me for thy servant, and pray 
for me. And Thou, my Redeemer, since 
Thou hast died for me, permit me to love 
Thee; for I wish but Thee, and nothing 
more. I love Thee, my Jesus, above all 
things; I repent of ever having offended 
Thee. jN'ever permit me to offend Thee 
again. Grant that I may love Thee always; 
and then do with me what Thou wilt. 

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be, etc. 

'f. Have inercy on us, Lord. p. Have mercy 
on us. 

if. May the souls of the faithful departedj^ 
Ihrough the mercy of God, rest in peace, 
p. Amen. 

(An Act of Contrition.) 

Let me mingle tears with thee, 
Mourning him who mourned for me, 
All the days that I may live. 

Bolj Mother, etc., or, lesus for the love of me, «to. 



iG\\xUtix\\ station* 




JESUS IS lAH) IX THE SEPULCHRE 



f. 'We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, and bless 

thy holv name, 
pf. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed 

the world. 



THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



153 



FOURTEENTH -I- STATION. 

Consider how the disciples carried the 
body of Jesds to bury it, accompanied by 
His holy Mother, who arranged it in the 
sepulchre with her own hands. They then 
closed the tomb, and all withdrew. 

Ah, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that 
enclos83 Thee. But Thou didst rise again 
the tLird day. I beseech Thee by Thy re- 
surrection, make me rise glorious with Thee 
at the It St, day, to be always united with 
Thee in L^tiveu, to praise Thee, and love 
Thee for e?-^r. Jesus, 1 love Thee, and 1 
repent of fc\^r having offended Thee. Per- 
mit tot tha' I ever offend Thee again. 
Gran^ that 1 nay love Thee, and then do 
with me ^\hat TLou wilt. 

Our FaihoT. Hall Mary. Glory be, etc. 

f. Have mcrcj on us, O Lord. 9?. Have mer- 
^y ou us. 

May V.\e b^nls of the faithful departed, 
viirough the merely cf God, rest in peace. 
Amen. 

(An Ao* of Contrition.) 

By the crosa \v:th thee to stay, 
There with thee to weep and pray, 
Is all I ask of ihse to give. 
Holy Mother, etc., or, Jesiw for the love of me, pta- 
Jjter this sayy Our FatUor, Kail Mary, and 
Gicry be, ttc . nve times, io zin the other maul" 
^^nccs gf^ii^i v i9 .V»i)se w/lo i -tutc them. 



THE 



STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

OP 

AS THEY ARE PERFORMED IN JERUSALEM. 

TO WHICH ARK ADDED 

STATIONS FOR HOLY THURSDAY, 

AXD THE 

LITTLE CROWN OF OUR SAVIODH 



•TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCK 
By MRS. J. SADLIER 



TO THE 

CHRISTIAN READER. 



Jesus Christ Crucified is, according to Saint Paul 
the Book of Pious Souls, and therefore infinitely 
deserving of our most attentive perusal. It is the 
Volume which the "^Vord Incarnate has bequeathed 
.0 his followers ; for as Saint Jerome remarks, he 
left no written instructions behind him, being pleas- 
ed to give us himself on the Cross instead of a book. 
By applying ourselves therefore to the study of this 
celestial volume, we may learn how to practise all 
the Christian Virtues, not simply by words and 
sentences, but by the most heroic actions ; and that 
in so plain and intelligible a manner as to be easily 
comprehended by every person of the most ordinary 
talents or capacity. Jesus Christ crucified, there- 
fore, being the Book of the Elect, I address the read- 
er in the words heard by St. Augustine, immediately 
before his conversion : Take it up md read." 



METHOD OF PRACTISIXG 

THE 

DEVOTION OF THE STATIONS. 



Those who are inspired with a zeal for promot« 
ing the glory of God and the salvation of their own 
souls, will let no day pass without performing one 
or more of these Stations in honor of the passion of 
our blessed Redeemer, which may be done in the 
following manner : 

Read, (or hearken to others who mayrea*.,) one 
or more of the Meditations with respect, attention, 
and devotion, pausing at those passages wherewith 
you find yourself most eff'ected. Afterwards place 
yourself devoutly on yonr knees, and say the Lord's 
Prayer and Hail Mary for the intention specified, 
and conclude with the Act of Contrition, which may 
be seen at the end of the First Station, and where- 
with you fin\sh each of the succeeding stations. 

This excellent devotion may be performed any- 
where, whether in the chamber, the church, the 
cloister, the garden, or field: but th? time most 
proper, is that in which the mind is least occupied 
with worldly concerns : in the morning, for example, 
after up-rising, or at night, before going to rest, 
whilst hearing mass, or assisting at vespers. But 
the most commendable manner is, when fathers and 
mothers, masters and mistresses of families, assem- 
ble their children and servants at night, to perfor-^ 



160 METHOD OF PRACTISING THE STATIONS. 



one of the Stations publicly together ; a method 
more pleasing to God than if they did it individu- 
ally and alone. Such also are much to be com- 
mended, as after having assisted at the church ser- 
vice on Sundays and holidays, go, by way of a 
spiritual walk and pious relaxation, to perform 
some of the Stations from church to church, during 
the interval between vespers and supper-time ; and 
this method is more especially to be recommended, 
since several instances appear in ecclesiastical his- 
tory, wherein persons of ever^r rank, from the throne 
to the cottage, have increased in fervor and zeal, 
and finally have attained to a high degree of sanc- 
tity by this practice. 

The author of this book, therefore, most humbly 
requests, in the name of Jesus Christ crucified, that 
all Confessors or Spiritual Directors; would re- 
commend the practice of the devotion of the Sta- 
tions, to their penitents, either by enjoining it by 
way of penance, or by exhorting them to visit 
churches, and there meditate on some particular 
point of the passion of our dear and amiable Re- 
deemer. 



It is a tradition, received from age to ago 
Jerusalem, that the Blessed Virgin, during the 
whole time she lived there after the death of her 
Son, our Lord and Redeemer, visited every day the 
Statio-ns of his Passion, distributing what little 6h« 
cduld spare in alms amongst the poor. 



THE 

STATIONS OF THE PASSIOK 

OF 



FIRST STATIOlf. 

THE SDPPER-ROOM WIITIRE OUR LORD INSTITCTED THE SACKAMKV3 
OF HIS BODY AXD BLOOD. 

The chamber where our Lord washed 
the feet of his disciples, and instituted 
the Blessed Sacrament of his body and 
blood, when preparing for his Passion, is 
about twenty-four feet long by sixteen 
broad. Here we have to consider Jesus 
Christ at the feet of the traitor Judas, 
about to wash them, and afterwards giv- 
ing him his precious body to eat and his 
precious blood to drink; let us say within 
ourselves with profound admiration: " 
unparalleled humility ! infinite cha- 
rity of the Man-God: where shall I hence- 
forth place myself to humble and mortify 
myself, when my Saviour is at the feet 
of the infamous Judas ! and how cad I 



f62 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 



refuse my love and my service to an 
enemy, seeing that the Son of God refuses 
not his body and blood to the most 
abominable of all men ! " We may here 
imagine what that charitable Saviour 
might say to Judas : ^' Judas, my dis- 
ciple and my apostle, what have I done 
to thee that thou dost hate me, and sell 
me to the Jews, my mortal enemies? 
Thou mayst still be converted; what I 
do in washing thy feet, is the figure of 
what thou canst do for thy salvation, 
what I am ready to do for thee, if thou 
wilt that thy soul be washed of its 
crimes in the water of penance; but if 
thou wilt still persist in thy damnable 
resolution, thou wilt be rejected by God, 
and condemned to everlasting fire." All 
was in vain; his heart and soul were pos- 
sessed by the demon of avarice. ac- 
cursed, detestable avarice ! inordi- 
nate passion for money ! what ravages 
dost thou make amongst Christians, and 
how many souls dost thou lead to perdi- 
tion! Thou art obdurate even now in 
the presence of a Man-God ! I will hate 
and abhor thee for the time I have yet to 
live! 



OP Or« LORD JESUS CHRIST. 163 



Say a Pater and an Ave to obtain the grace of 
hnmil'ity, devotion to the blessed Sacrament of the 
Altar, and a horror of the sin of avarice; then make 
the following act: 

ACT OF CONTRITION. 

Jesus, dearest and most adorable 
Saviour, who didst suffer so much, and 
die so cruel a death for me, (us,) I am (we 
are) heartily sorry for having offended 
thee, because thou art infinitely good and 
amiable, and that sin is displeasing to thee. 
Forgive liie, (us,) charitable Saviour, I 
(we) entreat thee by the bowels of thine 
infinite mercy, and by all the torments of 
thy bitter passion. Grant me (us) all the 
graces, all the favors, and all the indul- 
gences which thou art accustomed to give 
so liberally to those who make in Jerusa- 
lem the station which I (we) have now 
made. 

SECOND STATION^. 

THE GROTTO IN THE GARDEN OF OIJVES, WHERE OTJR LORD HAD 
HIS AGONY AND BLOODY SWEAT. 

From the supper-room to the garden 
of Olives is about fifteen hundred paces. 
The garden of Olives may be about 
seventy paces in length. In it are now 



164 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

seen nine large olive-trees. The grotto 
of tlie Agony is about sixty paces distant 
from Tvhere our Lord left his apostles, 
Peter, James, and John. The place where 
these three apostles were left, is ten paces 
from the entrance of the garden, inside. 
There are still some traces or prints of 
their bodies to be seen on three small 
projections of a large reddish rock. It 
was there that our Saviour told them his 
soul was sorrowful even unto death. The 
grotto of the Agony is almost round, 
supported by three pilasters, rough and 
unhewn, making part of the rock itself. 
It has an opening in the top, which gives 
it a little light. Through this aperture 
our Lord could behold the sky, during 
his prayer. The cave is reached by a 
descent of seven or eight steps rudely 
cut. It may have a diameter of fourteen 
or fifteen feet. This grotto cannot but 
draw down blessings, for on entering it 
we feel our heart softened, and our eyes 
filled with tears of devotion. There it 
was that the Saviour, representing to him- 
self the torments which the justice of God 
was preparing for him, in expiation of 
all the offences ever committed or to be 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 166 



committed against his divine Majesty, 
voluntarily conceived a fear so excessive, 
a sadness and a desolation so overwhelm- 
ing, that he fell into an agony. It vras 
there also, that appearing before his 
Eternal Father, charged with all the 
sins of the world, he sweat, as it were, 
drops of blood which flowed down to the 
ground. 

It was there also, that, oy the most 
amazing of all humiliations, he submitted 
to be consoled, sustained and encouraged 
by an angel, as St. Luke testifies in these 
words : " There appeared to him an 
angel from heaven, strengthening him.'^ 
We must enter this holy place, con- 
template the Saviour prostrate on the 
ground, agonized, and bathed in a bloody 
sweat, an Angel coming to console him, 
raises him from the ground, holds him in 
his arms, and encourages him to die. 
After this devout contemplation, we may 
address that good Saviour in the fol- 
lowing words : my dear Eedeemer, 
death must, indeed, be terrible, since 
thou dost testify such fear and ajDprehen- 
sion of it. Ah! be propitious to mc in 
my last agony and send me thy consot 



166 THE STATIONS OP THE PASSION 

ing Angel, to help me to die well, and 
to pass from this world to thy blessed 
eternity." 

Say a Pater and an Ave for those who are in 
their agony, and then make the Act of Contrition, 
page 163. 

THIRD STATION. 

EOTRA^'CE TO THE GARDEN OF OIITES VTHERE OUR LORD WAS 
TAKEN AND BOUND BY THE JEWS. 

We must here consider how our Lord, 
after recovering from his dreadful agony, 
comes forward to present himself to Ju 
das and the soldiers who came to take 
him, and with so much mildness and be- 
nignity that he received the kiss of the 
infamous and perfidious disciple, called 
him his friend, and allowed himself to 
be bound like a malefactor. After this 
consideration, say from the depth of your 
heart : ''0 sweet and charitable Lamb, 
thou mayst well command us to love our 
enemies, and to pardon injuries, since 
thou givest us so bright an exarcple 
thereof in thy kind and cordial reception 
of the most odious of men, the detestable 
Judas, who comes to insult thee and to 
take away thy life by his treachery. 



OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 161 



Grant us the grace, Lord, never to 
violate this thy commandment of charity, 
so that, always forgiving our enemies the 
injuries we receive from them, we may 
deserve to be forgiven our own trans- 
gressions.'^ 

Say a Pater and an Ave for those who have of- 
fended you, or done you any injury; then make the 
Act of Contrition, page 163. 

At the entrance of the garden of Olives 
commences the way which our Lord tra- 
velled from his apprehension till his final 
condemnation. 

FOURTH STATIOIJ. 

THE TORRENT KEDROX, WHERE IT IS SAID THAT OUR LORD FELL, 
IN PASSING. 

There is a tradition in Jerusalem, that 
our Lord, bound by the Jews, iDeing 
dragged roughly and tumultuously, by 
night, through the valley of Josaphat, to 
the house of Annas, fell into the torrent 
Kedron, swollen with the rains of the 
season, and that he left marks on the 
rock, at the bottom, which are still to be 
seen there. This is what David seems to 
have foretold by those words : " He shall 
drink of the torrent in the way: there- 



168 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

fore shall he lift up his head." Which 
shall be accomplished when, at the last 
judgment, in punishment of this outrage, 
and all others which Christ has received 
from the Jews and all other sinners, he 
will come, accompanied by his Angels, to 
avenge himself by judging the living and 
the dead. Here we may say to Jesus, 
bewailing our manifold offences : " Sa- 
viour of men, who didst fall into the tor- 
rent Kedron, suffer me not to fall into 
the mire of mortal sin, and if I have had 
the misfortune of falling into it, grant me 
the grace to arise from it by a true and 
sincere repentance." 

Say a Pater and Ave for those souls who are in 
the state of mortal sin. and make the Act of Contri- 
tion, page 163. 

FIFTH STATION. 

THE HOUSE OF ANNAS, WHERE OUR LORD RECEIVES A BLOW, 

The house of Annas, the father-in-law 
of Caiaphas, is changed into an hospital or 
monastery of Armenian Christians. There 
is in the court-yard a large and ancient 
olive-tree, to which our Lord is said to 
have been fastened while waiting to be 
presented to Annas. It is a local tradi- 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 16v« 

tion that the Church was built on the 
side of the hall where our Lord was pre- 
sented to Annas, and received a blow 
from a vile slave. A lamp burns day and 
night on the spot where the Saviour is 
believed to have stood when he was thus 
outraged. Say to him rather with the 
heart than with the mouth : " humility 
of my Redeemer ! couldst thou thus, 
Lord ! submit to be judged like a crimi- 
nal ? But it was to instruct me that thou 
didst take all our iniquities upon thysell^ 
and didst carry them to Calvary to ex- 
piate them by thy blood.^^ Then add : 
thou, the most beautiful of men ! how 
couldst thou let an abominable hand mar 
the loveliness of thy divine countenance 
by a \)low so painful and so disgraceful ? 
Thou art the Son of God: a wretched 
hireling strikes thee on the face, and 
there is no one to chastise him, no one to 
take up thy defence 1 My dear Redeemer, 
I will, after thy example, patiently en- 
dure the injuries, the offences, and the 
bad treatment of my fellow-creatures." 

Say a Pater and an Ave for all afflicted personS/ 
and then make the Act of Contrition, page 163. 



no THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 



SIXTH STATIOJf. 

The house of Caiaphas, the high pries ti 
is also changed into a monastery or hos- 
pital of Armenian Christians. In the 
court is still seen the place where St. 
Peter denied his master, when warming 
himself with the soldiers. The Church is 
built on the spot Avhere our Lord was de- 
clared a blasphemer, and judged worthy 
of death for having said that he was the 
Son of God. In this Church there is 
shown a small dungeon about three feet 
square, where our Lord is said to have 
been confined during part of the night, 
after the soldiers who had him in charge 
were tired of spitting on his face, beating 
him with their fists, tearing out his hair, 
and loading him with all imaginable con- 
tumely. After a short meditation on the 
tortures and outrages inflicted on the 
Saviour in the house of Caiaphas, you 
will say to him with cordial aflection : 
" Ah, my God and my Saviour ! It is I 
who deserve, by my ingratitude and infi- 
delity, to have my face bruised by a thou- 
sand blows, my hair torn out, and myself 
condemned to a shameful death, as guilty 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ITl 

of innumerable crimes against thy divine 
Majesty. Why shouldst thou, being in- 
nocent, nay, the Holy of Holies, and infi- 
nitely removed from sin, why shouldst 
thou be treated as a criminal in my place? 
Ah ! beloved of my soul, I will never go 
to bed at night without kneeling to make 
thee an act of reparation for the nume- 
rous outrages which thou didst endure for 
my sake. I will imitate the penitent St. 
Peter, and bewail my sins all the days of 
my life, with the sins of all who blas- 
pheme and deny thee." 

Say a Pater and an Ave for all blasphemers and 
for the impious who deny God, to the end that they 
may give up that execrable sin, and then make thft 
Act of Contrition, page 163. 

SEVENTH STATIOX. 

THE PALACE OP HKROD, WHERE OUR LORD WAS CLAD Df A WUITH 
GARMENT, AS A FOOL. 

The palace of Herod has been totally 
destroyed, so that no trace remains of its 
former magnificence. The house built on 
its ruins belongs to a Turk, who will not 
suffer a Christian to enter under his roof. 
We may imagine what our Lord suffered 
in the house of Herod — what cr)n tempt, 



172 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

derision, and insult of every kind. Thai 
prince, after having at first flattered and 
caressed him in hopes of having him work 
a miracle, seeing that he could not prevail 
upon him to utter a single Avord, despised 
him, treated him as a fool, mocked him 
with all his court, then clothed him in a 
white garment through derision, and sent 
him back to Pilate, thus shamefully 
clothed, to show the contempt with which 
he regarded him. Here, then, let us say 
to our Lord, with a strong sentiment of 
grief and compassion: "Ah ! dear Sa- 
viour, many Herods are there in the 
world, even amongst Christians, who 
mock and despise thee, insult thee even 
in thy churches, and before thine altars, 
by irreverence and disrespect which they 
would not dare to show in the house of 
a man of rank ! Oh ! if I could, even at 
the expense of my life, put a stop to these 
insolent sacrileges, which may sooner or 
lat^r draw down the vengeance of heaven 
even on the just ! But how was it, cha- 
ritable Redeemer, that thou didst refuse 
to say the least word to king Herod ? It 
was doubtless, because that having for 
three years neglected thy preachings, he 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIS"^. 175 

was unworthy of hearing a single word 
from thy sacred lips." 

Say a Pater and an Ave for those who are guilty 
of irreverence in Chiirches, and who neglect to hear 
Bermans, in order that God might convert them; 
then say the Act of Contrition, page 163. 

EIGHTH STATIOJf. 

PILATE'S HALL, WHERE OUR LORD WAS CRUELLY SCOURGED. 

This apartment is about seven or eight 
paces in extent. The pillar to which our 
Lord was fastened stood in the middle, 
and probably supported the roof, as, in 
the time of St. Jerome, it supported the 
porch of the Church of Sion, being still 
stained with the blood of Christ. Let us 
enter this hall, my soul, with a holy 
horror, to contemplate the most cruel and 
the most tragical sight ever seen on this 
earth. Knowest thou who it is that they 
are stripping and tieing to that fatal pil- 
lar ? It is the Son of Mary, the Son of 
the Eternal Father, — it is Jesus, thy Re- 
deemer. What shame and confusion for 
that Man-God, to see himself exposed to 
the immodest gaze of his tormentors and 
the mockery of an insolent rabble ! 
Seraphim, descend quickly, and cover 



174 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION" 



him with your wings ! sun, be eclipsed 
and hide thy light, to conceal from the 
sight of so many wretches that sacred 
flesh which should only be looked on by 
angels ! . . . But why, executioners, do ye 
bind so tightly the delicate hands of that 
Lamb ? Know ye not that it was his loye 
for the salyation of men that made him 
embrace that pillar, and that no bond, 
saye that of charity, could hold him 
there? The executioners, armed with 
whips, lash him without mercy, relieying 
each other in their diabolical task. Stop, 
wretch, it is an innocent mrin whom ihou 
thus tormentest, it is the rfing of lieayen 
and earth, it is the only Son of God! 
He is already torn and mangled ; his 
blood flows on eyery side; the payement, 
the pillar and the walls are stained with 
it. Stop, cruel assassins. But what ter- 
rible yoice do I hear ? Strike, execu- 
tioners, redouble your blows; spare not 
him whom I haye giyen up to your fury ! 
It is the yoice of the Eternal Father ; it 
is because that diyine Sayiour took our 
sins upon his head and bears them all. 
It is, then, to punish them, especially 
tlioso contrary to purity, that he is 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 175 

floated so; filthy and disgraceful sins of 
die tiesh, it is you that compel the chaste 
and innocent Saviour to endure this 
shameful punishment of flagellation. I 
detest and abhor you, and pray God to 
banish you from the world. 

Say a Pater and an Ave for the conversion of all 
vrho are addicted to sins of impurity, and then say 
the Act of Contrition, page 163. 

mm sTATiox. 

PILAIE'S HALL, WHERE OUR LORD WAS CROWXED WITH TEORSS. 

The remains of Pilate's palace serve 
even now as a residence for the Turkish 
governor, sent annually to Jerusalem by 
the sultan. It is painful to see the former 
pretorium used as a kitchen by the infi- 
dels. It is a vaulted room, wherein the 
Roman pretors were wont to administer 
justice. It was formerly reached by a 
marble staircase of twenty-eight steps, 
which has been conveyed to Rome, and 
is commonly called the Holy Staiis. We 
must transport om'selves in spirit to this 
hall, to see our Saviour undergo a novel 
kind of torment, till then unheard-of, and 
which must have been invented by devils. 



1T6 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 



They clothe him in a scarlet mantle, seal 
him on a stone by way of a throne, place 
on his head a crown of thorns, in his 
hand a reed, as it were a sceptre, and 
kneeling before him in derision, say: 
Hail, king of the Jews ! then, rising, 
strike him, and spit on his face. 
heaven! angels! God! canyon be- 
hold these insults and outrages without 
pouring out rour wi^ath on the sacrile- 
gious heads of those who perpetrate 
them ? And who are these merciless exe- 
cutioners ? Pride, ambition, vanity, it is 
you who have crowned my Saviour with 
that crown of thorns; it is you who have 
thus tortui^ed his sacred head. Enter, 
then, my soul, into an ecstacy of grief 
and contrition: cry out against that ac- 
cursed sin, saying with torrents of bitter 
tears : " Sin of pride, I detest thee; sin 
of ambition, I would I could annihilate 
thee; sin of vanity, remain in the infernal 
abyss with the damned, so as to be known 
no more amongst men, and that my good 
Baviour be no more crowned with thorns.'' 

Say a Pater and an Ave for those wlio i\re 
guilty of pride, vanity, or ambition, and make thf 
^ct of Contrition, pao:e 16S. 



OF OCR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 171 



TEJ^TH STATIOJ?. 

tSM GALLERY OF THE ECCE HOMO, WHERE OUR LORD WAS PRl-SENTT-rB 
BY PILATE TO THE PEOPLE, AND REJECTED FOR BARABBAS. 

This is the remains of an ancient gal- 
lery belonging to Pilate's palace, and 
opening on the street, where the Roman 
governor could show himself and address 
the people. Pilate, willing to save Jesns, 
whom he knew to be innocent, took him 
up to this gallery, and showed him to the 
people, bruised and mangled as he was, 
having scarcely the appearance of a man, 
his face disfigured, covered with blood 
and spittle. And to soften them, he said : 
''Behold the Man! " that is to say, hehold 
him whom you wish to have me put to 
death ; is he not sufficiently punished ? — 
are you not satisfied ? . . . No, they were 
not. " Crucify him ! " they cried; "cru- 
cify him! — you are no friend of Csesar, 
if you spare his life; he declared himself 
king, he must therefore die; his blood be 
on us and on our children ! " Pilate, still 
anxious to save Jesus, if possible, be- 
thought him of another expedient. It is 
ROW the feast of the Pasch,'' said he, 
^and it is customary to liberate one 



178 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

criminal at these times ; here are two : 
Barabbas, the robber, and Jesus, who is 
called Christ ; which will you have me 
release ? O heavens ! earth ! did 
witness this insult? They demand that 
Barabbas be released, and that Jesus be 
condemned to death ! Ah ! my dear Sa- 
viour ! Pilate is threatened with Caesar ^9 
displeasure, and that is enough ; thou 
must die, and a notorious robber is pre- 
ferred to thee. Reflect, my soul, on 
the comparison here made between J esus 
and Barabbas, and the preference given 
to Barabbas. Give way to thy just 
indignation, not against the Jews, but 
against thyself, who dost so often com- 
pare thine interest, thy honor, and thy 
pleasure with Jesus, and so often gives! 
them the preference. 

Say a Pater and aa Ave for those who unhappily 
prefer temporal interests to the service of God, and 
the salvation of their soul, and then make the Act 
of Contrition, page 163. 

ELEYESTH STATION. 

KUMBER OF glTTS TAKEN BY OUR LORD FROM TEIE TlSfE OF Hm 
APPREHENSION TILL HIS COXDEMXATION IN PILATE HOUSE, WHICH 
IS CALLED IN THE HOLY LAND THK WAY OF CAPTiriTY. 

From the garden of Olives to the 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

house of Annas, father-in-law of Cai- 
aphas, about thirteen hundred paces. 

From the house of Annas to that of 
Caiaphas, about two hundred and, sixty 
paces. 

Prom the house of Caiaphas to Pilate's 
palace, about thirteen hundred paces. 

Prom Pilate^s palace to that of Herod, 
about an hundred and twenty paces, and 
as many back. 

Prom Herod's palace to the Hair of 
Scourging, about twenty-five paces, and 
as many back; which makes, in all, three 
thousand one hundred and fifty paces. 

THE HOLY STAIRS. 

Our Lord went three times up and 
three times down the steps of Pilate's 
palace, called the Holy Stairs, which is 
now at Rome. 

He ascended it, the first time, coming 
from the house of Caiaphas. 

He descended it the first time, going 
to Herod's palace. 

He ascended it the second time, re- 
turning from Herod's palace. 

He descended it the second time goii^g 
to the Hall of Scourging. 



180 THE STATIONS OF THE PASStOK 



He ascended it the third time, return 
ing after being scourged. 

He descended it the third time going 
to Calvary. 

These stairs are in such veneration at 
Rome, that when the Pope ascends them, 
he does so on his knees, and his example 
is followed by all Christians. 

The road which leads from Pilate's 
house to Calvary is called the dolorous 
way^ because our Lord made that jour- 
ney after being condemned to death, 
torn and mangled after his cruel scourg- 
ing, crowned with thorns, and bearing 
his cross. 

TWELFTH ^mm. 

THE PLACE WHERE THE BEESSED VIRGIN FEIX INTO A SWOON, ON 
SEEING HER BELOVED SON, OUR LORD, CARRYING HIS CROSS TO 
MOUNT CALVARY. 

The tradition of Jerusalem is, that the 
Blessed Virgin being apprised by St. 
John the Evangelist that her dear son 
J esus was condemned to death, and that 
with his body all torn with scourges, 
and his head pierced with thorns, he was 
carrying Iiis cross on his shoulders to- 
v/ards Calvarv, accompanied by two 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 



18 1; 



robbers, she went out to meet him., 
pierced with the sword of sorrow whicl; 
the holy old man, Simeon, had predicted, 
for her on the day of the Purification, 
and on seeing him, fell into a swoon. 

There are still to be seen the ruins of 
a small chapel formerly built on the 
spot in honor of this mystery. 

We must here say to the Blessed Vir- 
gin: Mother of God, with good reason 
art thou called the Mother of Pity; was^^ 
there ever in the world a mother more 
worthy of compassion than thou ? I will 
deeply impress upon my mind the me- 
mory of that sorrowful meeting, and, if 
possible, remember it all my life, so as to= 
be a sharer in thy sorrows. 

Say a Pater aud an Ave for the sick, and make 
the Act of Contrition, page 163. 

THIRTEENTH STATION. 

THE PLACE WHERE OUR LORD APPEARED OVERPOWERED BY THI- 
WEIGHT OF THE CROSS, AXD WAS ASSISTED BY SIMOX TH» 
CYREXEAN. 

This cross was very long and very 
heavy; it is said to have been fifteen 
feet long and eight across, and being 
thick in proportion, was consequently 



182 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 



very lieayy. Our Lord was exhausted by 
his agony, his bloody sweat, and all the 
fatigue of the previous night, as also by 
the cruel and most sensible torments 
which he had endured, his great loss of 
blood, the crowning with thorns and 
other cruelties. All these things com- 
ing together made him fall under the 
weight of his cross. Contemplate, then, 
my soul, thy charitable Redeemer, half 
crushed beneath the pressure of God^s 
justice. Behold how his precious blood 
Qows from all parts of his body, and red- 
dens the pavement on which it falls. 
Hearken to his just complaints against 
sinners who cease not, by their offences, 
to weigh down his cross, and increase his 
torment. What ! is there no one to have 
compassion on him, and help him to arise 
and pursue his course ? Every one has a 
horror of the cross, and fears to touch it; 
it requires both threats and promises to 
induce a passing stranger to lend a hand, 
happy Simon, the Cyrenean ! if thou 
only knewest the honor done thee by the 
Jews; thou art without knowing it, the 
colleague of a Man-God; thou helpest the 
Redeemer of mankind; thou bearest with 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ^83 

fiim the instrument of man^s salvation. 
Associate me in thy glorious office, so 
that having accompanied Jesus in his 
Passion, I may deserve to accompany 
im in glory. 

Say a Fater and an Ave for the enemies of tli 
cross, and make the Act of Contrition, page 163. 

FOURTEENTH STATION. 

THE PLACE WHERE THE PIOUS WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WEPT OVER 
JESUS. 

Some pious women, who had often as- 
sisted at the sermons of Christ, and had 
been eye-witnesses of his miracles, seeing 
him in such a deplorable state, were 
touched with compassion, and followed 
him, weeping, and striking their breasts. 
Assuredly they could not have wept for 
a better cause, since they wept through 
compassion for the suffering Jesus. And 
yet our Lord, turning to them, said : 
Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over 
me, but weep for yourselves and for your 
children. For if, in the green wood tliey 
do these things, what shall be done in the 
dry T If the inncM3ent be so rigorously 
punished, what is to become of the 
guilty? and if the only Son of God ig 



184 



THE STATIONS OF THE PAS3I0X 



given up to die on the Cross for our sins 
not his own, can sinners expect to es- 
cape the punishment of their crimes ? 
Our Lord did not condemn the tears 
which they shed in pity for his sufferings; 
but he gave them to understand that 
he would rather have them bewail their 
own sins, as the source and the cause of 
his sufferings. what a noble employ- 
ment for a Christian — what a divine oc- 
cupation, to bewail his sins and the sins 
of the world with a truly contrite heart ! 
what a pleasing sight for God and his 
angels to see men sincerely sorry for 
those offences which daily crucify Christ 
anew ! " Ladies of rank,'^ said St. John 
Chrysostom, " wear rich jewels hanging 
from their ears, in order to give more 
lustre to their beauty; but holy souls 
show their faces bathed in tears, in order 
to appear more lovely in the eyes of 
God and his an^-els.^^ ^' Thev are like a 
precious wine,'^ says St. Bernard, " served 
up by angels at the table of the Lord.*' 
•* They act as ambassadors,*' says St. 
Hilary *' and obtain for us the pardon 
of our sms; they fall on the ground and 
iscend thence to heaven; they are mute 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 185 

but eloquent; David begged of God to 
hear them : Auribus percipe lachrymas 
mms; and the prophet Jeremiah com- 
manded them to flow incessantly: JYon 
taceat pupilla oculi tuL St. Peter thrice 
denies his master; and his tears, like 
water from a sponge, efface the traces of 
his three denials. So it was with the 
sinful Magdalen; she wept unceasingly, 
and her tears blotted out the crimes of 
her past life. Give me, then, my God, 
that precious and salutary gift of tears; 
to that end, I beseech thee by the tears 
thou didst shed during thy mortal life, 
and by the tears of those pious women 
who followed thee, and had compassion 
on thy sufferings. 

Say a Pater and an Ave to obtain from God the 
gift of tears, and make the Act of Contrition^ 
page 163. 

FIFTEESH STATION. 

THE HOUSE OP THE PIOUS VERONICA, WHO WIPED OUR LORD'* 
F^CE, WHEN ET WAS COVERED WFIH SWEAT, BLOOD AND SPnTLE. 

It is said that Berenice, a Jewish 
woman, commonly called Veronica, threw 
a handkerchief on the face of Jesus, as 
he carried his cross to Calvary, to wipe 



186 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

off the blood, sweat and spittle, with 
which he was covered. It is thought that 
this handkerchief was folded in tliree, 
and that the face of our divine Saviour 
was imprinted on every fold, of which 
one is kept in Rome, the other in Spain, 
the third in Jerusalem. charitable 
pity of that generous woman ! Whilst 
all the world appeared to have con- 
spired against that innocent victim, who 
seemed abandoned by his Father to the 
fury of the impious, whilst all Jerusalem 
thirsted for his death and crucifixion, 
whilst it is considered a sacrilegious 
crime to regard him as the Messiah, she 
gives him what relief and consolation 
she can, in the midst of all his pains. 
By that act. holy woman, thou hast 
merited immortal glory both in time and 
eternity. Hence it was that Jesus gave 
thee the richest present ever given to 
mortal : He gave thee his portrait on 
three different folds. I will honor thee 
all my life as thou deservest to be ho- 
nored, and I will always remember the 
incomparable Veronica. 

Say a Pater and an Ave for those who succor the 
jilllicted, and naake the Act of Contrition, page 163^ 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 



187 



SIXTEE^fTH STATION. 

TTTR GATE OF JUDGMENT, WHERE OUR LORD HEARD HIS SENTKXCH 
RE,\D. 

This is the gate by which people for- 
merly went from Jerusalem to the place 
of punishment called Calvary, or the 
place of skulls. Some remains of this 
gate still exist, together Avith a pillar on 
which the sentence of death was pasted, 
so as to be read aloud to the criminal as 
he passed, and that all the people might 
know the cause of his condemnation. 
Contemplate then, my soul, the humil- 
ity, the patience of the divine Saviour 
when, on reaching this fatal gate, he 
heard his sentence read. He is con- 
demned to be put to death as a rebellious 
and impious man. What cruelty ! What 
barbarity ! Can we imagine anything 
more grievous or more afflicting to that 
divine Saviour, that Messiah promised to, 
and expected by the Jews for four 
thousand years, foretold by so many 
prophets; that Messiah who had lived 
amongst men and co^iversed with them, 
manifested himself by prodigies and 
uiiracles, raised the dead, gave sight to 



188 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

the blind, cured the lame and the paraly- 
tic? This was exactly what the pro- 
phets had foretold of the Messiah; the 
Jews saw it done by Christ and yet they 
had condemned him to death; and it was 
for me, my dear Redeemer, for me 
thou sufiferedst all this ! Do I not owe 
thee an infinite obligation for such ex- 
ceeding great charity ! I thank thee 
with all my heart, and in token of my 
gratitude, I will henceforward submit to 
all the dispensations of thy providence, 
and respectfully kiss thy hand when it 
pleases to chastise me. 

Say a Pater and an Ave for the innocent op- 
pressed, and make the Act of Contrition, page 163. 

JVumher of steps taken by the Saviour of the world 
in what is called the dolorous way, croicned 
with thoims and car rying his cross. 

From Pilate's palace to the gallery of 
the Ecce Homo, seventy paces. 

From the gallery of the Ecce Homo tc 
the place where the Blessed Virgin 
fainted, an hundred paces. 

From that place to the crossway, where 
our Lord was raised from the ground 
and hel]>ed by Simon the Cyrenean tc 
carry his cross, forty paces. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 



189 



Prom that crossway to the place where 
the pious women wept over our Lord, 
ten paces. 

Prom that place to the little house of 
Veronica, an hundred and seventy paces. 

Prom Veronica's house to the Gate of 
Judgment, by which our Lord departed 
from Jerusalem, sixty paces. 

Prom the Ga-te of Judgment to the 
foot of Mount Calvary, two hundred 
paces. 

Prom the foot of Mount Calvary to 
the top was, in our Lord's time, about 
fifty paces; making in all seven hundred 
paces. 

SEVExXTEESTH STATION. 

«OU^'T CALVARY WHERE OUR LORD WAS CRUCTFiro BETWEEN TM'O 
THIEVES. 

Mount Calvary was a rocky eminence 
<)utside of Jerusalem, where criminals 
were executed; it is now in the middle of 
the city, inclosed within a church, and 
converted into a beautiful chapel, twenty- 
four feet square. It is reached by nine- 
teen steps, higher than those used in our 
houses. In it is seen the place of the cru- 
cifixion, that is the spot where the cross 



190 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 



was laid while our Lord was fastened to 
it; also the hole wherein the cross was 
planted after our Saviour was nailed to 
it; the place where the Blessed Virgin 
St. John, St. Mary Magdalen, with othei 
devout women stood during the cruci- 
fixion; the place where the crosses of 
the two thieves were planted; the place 
where stood the cross of the good thief is 
within four and a half feet of that where 
the Saviour^s stood, while that of the bad 
thief is six feet distant. There is also to 
be seen the miraculous fissure in the rock 
made by the earthquake which took place 
at om^ Saviour^s death; it is within a 
foot of the spot where stood the cross of 
the bad thief; it made a mysterious sepa- 
ration between our Lord and the bad 
thief. This chapel is the most sacred 
spot on earth. It was there that Christ, 
th'^ Son of God, effected the redemption 
of mankind by dying on the cross. Thi- 
ther must we often go in spirit, to con- 
template the Saviour, faint and exhausted, 
offered wine mingled with myrrh, which 
he would barely taste, unwilling to be 
relieved in any degree of the sufferings 
he was pleased to undergo. Oh ! what 



OF OTTR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 191 

he must have sujffered toiling up this rude 
and rugged way ! He is then fastened to 
the cross, the executioners take his gar- 
ments, and divide them amongst them- 
selves. His tunic, which had no seam, 
'^v^as not divided, but given by lot. 
sacred Virgin, how great must have been 
thine anguish — great as the sea, as the 
Prophet had foretold long before. Be- 
hold, then, the man of sorrows crucified, 
fastened to the cross, and thus lifted from 
the earth ! Here pause, my soul, pro- 
strate thyself before the cross, embrace 
the feet of thy dying Saviour; mingle thy 
tears with his blood, assure him that thou 
art heartily sorry for having ofi'ended 
him, and having forced him, by thy sins, 
to die so cruel and so ignominious a 
death. Say to him with a heart full of 
compunction : " Adorable Jesus, it was 
my sins that made thee die; yes, it was 
my sins that drove those thorns into thy 
liead, and pierced thy feet and hands; it 
was my sins that nailed thee to that infa- 
mous gibbet. Ah ! great God, amiable 
Redeemer, draw me to thyself, pardon 
me, be merciful to me, my God, be 
merciful, and I will never more offend 



192 THE STATIONS OF THE P.4SSI0N 

thee. This I solemnly and publicly pro 
mise, and I conjure thee, by the blood 
that flowed from thy veins, by that head 
pierced with thorns, by those hands and 
feet nailed to the cross, to give me thy 
grace, and the pardon of all my past of- 
fences. I will consider that last bowing 
down of thy head as a sign of thy for- 
giveness, and will henceforward remem- 
ber it as a powerful motive to keep me 
from sin. Accept, then, adorable Jesus, 
my good resolution, and blessing me from 
thy cross, never permit sin to withdraw 
me from the obedience which I owe thee, 
and will render to thee all m.y life. 

Say a Pater and an Ave to obtain the grace of 
avoiding sin, and make the xlct of Contrition, page 
163. 

EIGTHTEEXTH STATION. 

THE HOLY SEPUT.CHRE WHERDf CHRIST'S BODY WAS 'LATD. 

Our Lord's Sepulchre, as now seen, re- 
sembles a small chamber, about seven 
feet square and eight high. There is in 
it a projection of the rock, disposed in 
the form of an altar, on which it is said 
that our Saviour's body was laid. The 
door is very low, and (ine has to stoop 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 193 



^oing in. This holy Sepulchre is now 
detached from Calvary; for, in building 
the church which encloses both, it was 
necessary to cut away and smooth a great 
part of the rock. It is now enslirined 
in a chapel. Forty-three small silver 
lamps, and one of gold, enriched with 
jewels, burn day and night in that sacred 
place, producing in it a heat almost 
stifling. Enter this sanctuary in spirit, 
my soul, to pay thy last respects to 
Jesus, thy Saviour and Redeemer; thou 
hast followed him through the various 
stages of his Passion and witnessed his 
death, accompany him now to the tomb. 
Behold what thou hast to consider. 
When our Lord had expired and given 
up his soul into the hands of his Father, 
Joseph of Arimathea, one of his disciples, 
went boldly to Pilate, and asked his 
body. Nicodemus being come with about 
one hundred pounds of a composition of 
myrrh and aloes, they took the body of 
Jesus, wrapped it in a shroud of fine 
linen with aromatic spices, according to 
tlie custom of the Jews. There was, in 
the place where he was crucified, a gar- 
Aon, and in that garden a sepulchre 



194 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION 

quite new wherein no one had yet been 
laid; and as it was the eve of the Jewish 
Sabbath, and the sepulchre close at hand, 
they laid Jesus in it. It is in this sepul- 
chre that a Christian soul should wish 
to dwell in spirit, and never to leave it 
It should bury itself there with Christ, to 
lead a solitary and retired life, wholly 
dead to the world and all its vanities. 
It should hide in the clift of the rock, 
Jike the dove, to sigh and weep the re- 
mainder of its days over the Passion of 
its amiable Saviour, and with sorrow and 
compunction of heart prepare to die well. 

Say a Pater and an Ave to obtain a tender devo- 
tion to the Passion of onr Lord, and the grace to 
die a holy death, then make the Act of Contrition, 
page 163. 

^flNTEEJ^TH STATION. 

MOUNT OLmrr, where our lord ascended gloriously to beaten. 

Christ having risen the third day ac- 
cording to his promise, manifested him- 
self to his apostles, and shewed them, by 
many proofs that he was living; appear 
ing to them for forty days, and speaking 
to them of the kingdom of God. Then 
they saw him ascend to heaven, a cloud 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 195 

concealing him from their view. This h 
said to have happened on the top of 
Mount Olivet. This mountain faces Je* 
rusalem, tov^ards the east, at the dis- 
tance of about a thousand paces; the val- 
ley of Josaphat lies between. The moun- 
tain has three points or summits, and is 
about six hundred paces in height. On 
the top is still seen the print of our Sa- 
viour's left foot; it is said that he left this 
mark when going up to heaven. In order 
to have a proper conception of the devo- 
tion of the Stations of the Passion, we 
must transport ourselves in spirit to this 
sacred mountain, and take our place 
amongst the five hundred disciples who 
were present at his Ascension, so as to 
contemplate the infinite glory of the Re- 
deemer of men. How the sufi'erings of this 
life are rewarded in the other. What a 
difference between Christ crucified, and 
Christ glorified. Behold how he ascends 
to heaven by his own power, amidst a 
thousand million of angels singing his 
glory and his triumphs. Let us consider 
the infinite multitude of those illustrious 
captives whom he delivered by his death 
and resurrection, and takes with him to 



196 THE STATIONS OF THE PASSION, ETC 



fieaven at his Ascension. And, after con* 
cemplating all these great wonders, let 
us sav with 'St. Paul: Videmus Jesum, 
propter passionis mortem gloria et honore 
coronatum. death of my Saviour, I 
bless, I glorify, I adore thee : I conse- 
crate to thee my mind, that it may un- 
ceasingly think of thee ; my heart, that 
it may ever love thee ; my ears, that 
they may ever hear thy name with joy ; 
my eyes, that they may regard with de- 
votion the pictures and images which re- 
present thee; my feet, that they may go as 
often as they can to visit churches, where- 
in thou art specially commemorated ; all 
my body, that it may endure every thing 
for thy sake. Accept, my dear Re- 
deemer, my dear crucified Jesus, the 
good will which thou now givest me : 
preserve it till the end of my life, and 
suffer not that any of those who have 
practiced the devotion of the Stations of 
thy Passion and death, be deprived of 
the fruit which thou wouldst have us de- 
rive from them. 

Say a Pater and an Ave for the spread of this d(^ 
votion, and that aU who perform it may do it with 
boly feryor, then make the act of Contrition, pa^ce 
163. 



rOW!RFUI MOTIVES. 



19-: 



POWERFUL MOTIVES 

WHICH OUGHT TO OBLIGE A CHRISTI^VN TO MEDITATE ON THE PASSIOJI 09 

JESUa CHRIST CRUCimD 



MOTIVE 1. 

By frequently meditating on the pajsion of 
our Saviour, we appease the wrath and regain 
the favor of the Eternal Father ; because God 
the Father, if he be angry with us, casting 
his eyes upon Jesus Christ crucified, he sees a 
Son, infinitely worthy of being heard ; a Son, 
equal to himself in power, wisdom, and holi- 
ness; a Son, infinitely amiable, who offers him 
his divine life in sacrifice, who sheds all his 
blood for the reparation of his honor, and he 
sees himself infinitively more honored by this 
magnificent reparation, than he had been dis- 
honored by the sins of the world. Thus he 
takes an infinite complacency in this well-be- 
loved Son, who sacrifices himself for the glory 
of his Father : '^Hic est Filius mens dilectus 
in quo mihi bene complacui.'^ — Now, when we 
tliink on our Saviour's passion, or meditate 
on his death and torments, we present before 
the Eternal Father an object infinitely amiable, 
viz. his dear Son, the crucified Jesus, and by 
this representation obtain his favor. A Chris* 
tian, devGied to our Saviour's passion, may 



19S POWERFUL MOTIVES. 

say with St. Paul, I accomplish what was want- 
ing in the sufferings of our Saviour's passion. 
Our divine Redeemer would willingly have re- 
mained fastened to the cross for the honor of 
God his Father, and the love of mankind, to 
the end of the world, had it been convenient ; 
but that not being proper, he would remain 
crucified in the hearts of the faihful and his 
elect, who continually meditate ©n the tor- 
ments of his passion and death. Therefore God 
the Father never beholds a Christian devoted 
to the passions of Jesus Christ without the 
utmost complacency ; beholding in him, as in 
a mirror, the image of his crucified Son. 
Hence he is moved with compassion towards 
him, and feels himself forced as it were, to 
love a creature so replete with the love of his 
Son J esus Christ crucified. 

MOTIVE n. 

The meditation of the passion is a door by 
^^hich the just enter into their Saviour's friend- 
ship : ^'Hasc porta Domini, justi intrabunt in 
eam." For, first, our Saviour could not have 
done a more heroic action for the glory of 
God his Father, and the love of mankind, than 
ihat of dying upon the cross ; for what greater 
action (^.an be conceived, than for a Man-God to 
offer up his divine life in sacrifice ? Secondly, 



POWERFUL MOTIVES. 



199 



he could not have made his glory more resplen- 
dent than by dying on the cross for the salva- 
tion of his people ; ''Dedit se ut liberaret po- 
pulum suum, et aequireret sibi nomen seter- 
num." To save mankind by his death, 'twas 
necessary he should be both man and God : 
man, to be capable of dying ; and God, to 
render his death infinitely meritorious. From 
hence it follows, that our Saviour is never more 
pleased than when we commemorate his pas- 
sion and death ; for, if a king in a day of battle 
had gained the victory with his own hand, 
killed his enemy's general, and saved his people 
from death, would he not rejoice to hear so 
great an exploit spoken of, to have eulogiums 
made of it, and the memory of it preserved 
throughout the whole dominions, by inscrip- 
tions engraved on brass or marble. Thus it 
must be particularly pleasing to our Saviour, 
when we reflect on his death and passion, or 
when we entertain ourselves with the thoughts 
of what he suffered from his whips, thorns, and 
nails, when we admire his patience in suffering 
ignominies, opprobriums, and torments ; then 
we may assure ourselves that he will look fa- 
vorably upon us, honor us with his friendship, 
and grant us whatever we ask of him, provided 
we entertain an affectionate and cordial devo- 
tion to his passion, and perform the stations 
^ith true zeal. 



200 



POWCRFCL MOTIVES. 



MOTIVE m. 

The more frequently and perseveringly wc 
meditate on Christ's passion, the greater is the 
sign of our predestinaton. St. Paul assures 
us, that Jesus Christ is our only Saviour, and 
by consequence the author of salvation and 
predestination, by virtue of his crucifixion. 
This great Apostle sufficiently declares his 
sentiments, by the words which he addressed 
to the Christians of Philippi : He has hum- 
bled himself, making himself obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross. Therefore 
hath God exalted him, and given him a name 
above all names, that at the ]S"ame of Jesus 
all nations should bow," &c. The Son of God 
was not properly called Jesus, or our Saviour, 
and Redeemer, by the mysterious virtue of his 
incarnation, birth, or life, but by that of his 
passion and death ; 'twas his death that re- 
Btored us to life ; his blood which cleansed us 
from our sins ; and his cross was the key that 
shut the gates of hell against us. and opened 
to us those of Heaven. The Christian, then, 
who joins and engages himself to the Son of 
God dying upon the cross, by a grateful re- 
membrance of his sufferings, and a cordial 
affection to his torments ; the Christian who 
continues daily to meditate on some point of 
his Saviour's passion, can he perish, being 



POWERFUL MOTIVES. 



201 



strictly bound and united to the Author of his 
salvation? No, says St. Augustine, *'A11 
my hope is in my Saviour's death. His death 
is my merit, my refuge, my salvation, my hfe, 
and mv resurrection." 

MOTIVE IV. 

Our Saviour has declared, by several re- 
velations, that no devetion is more p-leasing to 
him, than that which we have to his passion 
and death. Ble-ssed Louis of Blois assures us, 
that our Saviour revealed to St. Gertrude, 
that as often as any one should with devotion 
look upon a crucifix, so often should he be 
amorously looked upon by the benign mercy 
of God. Another author says, that a certain 
person, desiring to know by what devotion he 
might best please Almighty God, our Saviour 
appeared to him carrying his cross, telling him 
that 'twas by jointly bearing his cross with 
him, and never to lose the remembrance of it ; 
by often speaking of this cross, by hearing it 
spoken of, by looking frequently upon it, and 
by sharing in his passion by some exterior mor- 
tification. St. Mary Magdalene, that incom- 
parable lover of Jesus Christ crucified, having 
retired herself into that famous solitude of St. 
Baume, and having begged of our Lord to 
make known to her in what exercise he desired 
she should chiefly be* employed to become the 



202 



POWERFUL MOTIVES. 



more agreeable to him, and thereby daily tes 
tify her love to him, our Saviour sent an augei 
to her with a cross in his hand, which he 
placed at tlie door of her cell, telling her, that 
Bhe should ever have that cross before her eyes, 
and that she ought to be continually taken up 
with the consideration of the mysteries that 
were wrought upon it ; which she did for the 
space of the thirty-two years she lived aftei- 
wards. 

We read of St. Bridget, that, when she was 
but very young, our Saviour appeared to hex 
nailed to the cross, and quite covered with 
blood which he seemed to have then newly 
shed ; and from that time she ceased not con- 
tinually to meditate on the passion of the Son 
of God, which she scarce ever did without 
many tears. We likewise read in the life 
of St. Francis, that having three times opened 
the Missal, there to learn evangelical perfec- 
tion, by a particular Providence of God he 
always opened it at the passion of Christ, as 
if God would have thereby said to him, You 
seek the means of making yourself perfect, and 
of pleasing me ; ^tis by giving yourself to the 
contemplation and imitation of my sufferings. 
Upon that same account, the cross was shewn 
to that holy man seven several times, as the 
pattern he ought to follow: and to load him 
with favors, our Lord appeared to him in tha 



POWERFUL MOTIVES. 



203 



form of a crucified seraph, and imprinted the 
marks of his five wounds upon him, with so 
tender a devotion to his passion, that con- 
stantly, whenever he thought of it afterwards, 
he broke out in sighs and lamentations, and 
cuelted into tears. But what need have we 
to search for revelations to prove the excel- 
lency of the devotion to the passion of Jesus 
crucified ? Does not the holy scripture teach 
us, that our Saviour thought continually on 
his passion and death ? Dolor mens in con- 
spectu meo semper Do we not read it in 
the gospel, that it was the subject of his dis- 
course to his apostles and disciples, even so 
far as to speak of it to Moses and Elias, in 
the midst of the glory of his transfiguration 
on Thabor ? And did he not carry with him 
his five wounds to heaven, to have before his 
eyes the marks of his passion for a whole 
eternity ? What shall I say of the great St. 
Paul? Did he not profess that he knew 
nothing but Christ crucified ? What did he 
preach but the passion of Jesus Christ cruci- 
fied ? In what did he glory, but in the cross 
of our Lord Jesus Christ? What other de- 
votion had he, but to be crucified with our 
Lord Jesus Christ? 

Let us conclude the Motives with the 
words of the seraphical Bonaventure who 
ever had the image of a crucifix before his 



204 A PRAYER TO JESUS CRUCIFIED 



eyes, which he called his library: "I will,* 
S^vs he, " take my repose in the sacred side 
of my Saviour ; I will there watch, read, 
pray, drink, eat, and treat of all my affairs • 
1 will there speak to his heart, and shall ob- 
tain of him whatever I please.*' 



A PRATER TO JESUS CRUCIFIED, 

Agonizing and dying, to obtain a happy Agony an.^ 
holj Death, made at Calvary by the Author, be- 
fore the place where our Saviour's Cross v^^a 
planted, on Good Friday, 1654. 

My most dear and adorable Saviour 
Jesus, who wast crucified, I beseech thee, 
through the excess of charity thou hast 
for the salvation of poor sinners ; through 
thy dolorous passions and bitter agony : 
through the effusion of the last drop of 
thy precious blood on the cross : through 
the recommendation of thy blessed soul 
into the hands of thy Eternal Father : 
through the last exclamation thou gay est 
before thou expiredst ; through thy last 
sign when thou gavest up the ghost ; and 
through thy death ; which was the accom- 
plishment of our redemption, that thou 
wouldst vouchsafe to have mercy on me 
now, and in my agony, and receive my 



PRAYERS, ETC. 



spirit into thy hands, and into the bosom 
uf thy mercy at the instant of my deatli. 
Amen. 

A jeiOUS EJACULATION OF THE SOUL TO 
HER CRUCIFIED REDEEMER. 
O Jesus, the Saviour of Mankind, whose 
Bacred body was fastened to the cross with 
three nails, fix my heart to the same cross 
with the three nails of faith, hope, and 
CHARITY. Amen. 

PRAYER TO JESUS. 
good Jesus, most tender Jesus, most 
sweet Jesus, Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary, 
full of mercy and love! sweet Jesus, ac- 
cording to thy great mercy, have pity of me ! 
O most gracious Jesus! I implore thee by 
that precious Blood which of thy own will 
thou hast shed for sinners, to wash away all 
my iniquities, and to look upon me an an- 
worthy wretch that humbly prays for pardon, 
and invokes the holy Name of Jesus. 

THE NUMBER OF STEPS. 
P. S. The number of Steps our Saviour walked 

in the road of captivity - - - 3150 
The number be walked in the dolorous way, 700 



In an 3850 



206 



LITANY OF THE PASSION. 



LITANY OF THE PASSION. 

Lord, have mercy. 
Z.ord, have mercy, 
Christ, have mercy. 
Christy have mercy. 
Lord, have mercy. 
Lord^ have mercy. 
Christ, hear iis. 
Christy gj'aciously hear us. 
God the Father of heaven, 
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, 
God the Holy Ghost, 
Holy Trinity, one God, 
JesiTS, the Eternal "Wisdom, 
Jesus, conversing with men, 
Jesus, hated by the world, 
Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver, 
^Jesus, prostrate on the ground in 
prayer, 

Jesus, strengthened by an angel, o 
Jesus, in thine agony, bathed in a ^ 

bloody sweat, ^ 
Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss, 
Jesus, bound by the soldiers, 
Jesus, forsaken by thy disciples, 
Jesus, brought before Annas and Cai- 

aphas. 



LITANY OF THE PASSION. 



Jesus, struck by a servant on the face, 
Jesus, accused by false witnesses, 
Jesus, declared worthy of death, 
Jesus, spit upon in the face, 
Jesus, blindfolded, 
Jesus, smitten on the cheek, 
J esus, thrice denied by Peter, 
Jesus, delivered up to Pilate, 
J esus, despised and mocked by Herod, 
Jesus, clothed in a white garment, 
Jesus, rejected for Barabbas, 
Jesus, torn with scourges, 
Jesus, bruised for our sins, 
Jesus, esteemed as a leper, 
Jesus, covered with a purple robe, 
Jesus, crowned with thorns, 
Jesus, struck with a reed upon the 
head. 

Jesus, demanded for crucifixion by the 
Jews, 

Jesus, condemned to an ignominious 
death, 

Jesus, given up to the will of thine 
enemies, 

Jesus, loaded with the heavy weight 

of the cross, 
Jesus, led like a sheep to the slaughter, 
Jesus, stripped of thy garments, 



208 



LITANY OF THE PASSIOX. 



Jesus, fastened with nails to the cross, 
Jesus, wounded for our iniquities, 
Jesus, praying to thy Father for thy 

murderers, 
Jesus, reputed with the wicked, 
Jesus, blasphen>ed and scoffed at on 

the cross, 
Jesus, reviled by the malefactor, 
Jesus, promising Paradise to the peni- 
tent thief, 
Jesus, commending St. John to thy 

Mother as her son, 
Jesus, declaring thyself forsaken by 

thy Father, 
Jesus, in thy thirst given gall and 

vinegar to drink, 
Jesus, testifying that all things writ- 
ten concerning thee were accom- 
plished, 

Jesus, commending thy spirit into the 

hands of thy Father, 
Jesus, obedient even to the death of 

the cross, 
Jesus, pierced with a lance, 
Jesus, made a propitiation for us, 
Jesus, taken down from the cross, 
Jesus, laid in the sepulchre, 
Jesus, rising gloriously from the dead, 



LITANY OF THE PaSSION. 



209 



Jesus, ascending into heaven, 
Jesus, our Advocate with the Father. 
Jesus, sending down on. thy disciples 
^ the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, ^ 
Jesus, exalting thy Mather above the g 

choirs of Angels, ^ 
Jesus, who shalt come to judge the ^ 

living and the dead, § 
Be merciful. ?? 
Spare us, Lord, 
Be merciful. 

Graciously hear us, O Lord^ 
From all evil, 
From, all sin. 

From anger, hatred, and every evil 
will, 

From war, famine, and pestilence, 
From all dangers of mind and body. 
From everlasting death. 
Through thy most pure Conception, g 
Through thy miraculous Nativity, 
Through thy humble Circumcision, § 
Through thyBaptism and holy Fasting, ^ 
Through thy Labors and Watchings, 
Through thy cruel Scourging and ^ 

Crowning, 
Through thy Thirst, and Tears, and 

Nakedness 



210 LITANY OF THE PASSION. 



Through thy precious Death and ^ 
Cross, 2- 

Through thy glorious Resurrection ^ 
and Ascension, | 

Through thy sending forth the Holy ^ 
Ghost, the Paraclete, 1;* 

In the day of Judgment, | 

We sinners, ^ 

Beseech thee, hear us. S 

That thou wouldst spare us. 

That thou wouldst pardon us, 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring 
us to true penance, 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe merci- ^ 
fully to pour into our hearts the 
grace of the Holy Spirit, ^ 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe to de- 
fend and propagate thy holy 
Church, I 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe to pre- 
serve and increase all societies § 
assembled in thy Holy Name. S 

That tli^u wouldst vouchsafe to be- g 
stow upon us true peace, humil- 
ity, and charity. 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe to give 
us perseverance in grace and in 
thy holy service, 



I.ITANY OF THE 



211 



Tliat thou wouldst vouch .5afe to de- :s 
liver us from unclean thoughts, ^ 
the temptations of the devil, and | 
everlasting damnation. § 

That thou wouldst vouchsafe to unite ^ 
us to the company of thy Saints, ^ 

fheit thou wouldst vouchsafe gra- 
ciously to hear us, § 

Lamb of God who takest away the ^ 
sins of tfee world, 

Spare us, Lord. 

Lamb of God who takest away the sins 

of the world, 
Graciously hear us, Lord, 
Lamb of God who takest away the sing 

of the world, 
Have mercy on us. 
Christ, hear us. 
Christy graciously hear us. 
Lord, have mercy. 
Christy have mercy. 
Lord, have mercy. 

^, We adore thee, Christ, and we 
oless thee. 

R. Because through thy holy Cross 
thou hast redeemed the world. 



£12 MTANY aF THE PASSION. 

God, who for the redemption af the 
world wast pleased to be born, to be cir- 
cumcised, to be rejected by the Jews, to 
be betrayed by the traitor Judas with a 
kiss, to be bound with thongs, to be led 
as an innocent lamb to the slaughter, and 
to be shamefully presented to the gaze 
of Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod ; 
to be accused by false witnesses, to be 
insulted with scourgings and revilings, 
to be spit upon and crowned with thorns, 
to be buffeted upon the face, and struck 
with a reed, to be blindfolded, to be 
stripped of thy clothes, to be fastened 
with nails to the cross, to be hoisted up 
thereon, to be reckoned among thieves, 
to have gall and vinegar given thee to 
drink, and to be pierced with a lance ; 
through these thy most holy sufferings, 
which we, thy unworthy servants, devoutly 
call to mind, and by thy holy Cross and 
by thy Death, deliver us (or this thy ser- 
vant N. in his agony) from the pains of 
hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us whither 
thou didst conduct the thief who was 
crucified with thee. Who, with the Fa- 
ther and the Holy Ghost, livest and reigu 
est, God, world without end. Amen 



213 



MISERERE. 

1 Ihivid prays for remission of his sins ; 8. for per 
feet sanctity. 17. God delights not in sacrifice 
but in a contrite heart. 19. David prays for the 
exaltation of the Church. 

1 Have mercy upon me, God : ac- 
cording to thy great mercy. 

2 And according to the multitude of 
thy tender mercies : blot out my iniquity. 

3 Wash me yet more from my iniqui- 
ty : and cleanse me from my sin. 

4 For I acknowledge my iniquity : 
and ray sin is always before me. 

5 Against thee only have I sinned, and 
done evil in thy sight : that thou mayest 
be justified in thy words, and mayest 
overcome when thou art judged. 

6 For behold I was conceived in ini- 
quities : and in sins did my mother con- 
ceive me. 

7 For behold, thou hast loved truth : 
the uncertain and unhidden things of thy 
wisdom thou hast made manifest unto me. 

8 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssops 
ftod I shall be cleansed : thou «ihalt wash 



214 



MISERERK. 



me, and I shall be made v^hiter tliaa 
snow. 

9 Thou shalt make me hear of joy and 
gladness : and the bones that were hum- 
bled shall rejoice. , 

10 Turn away thy face from my sins : 
and blot out all my iniquities. 

11 Create in me a clean heart, God : 
and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 

12 Cast me not away from thy pre- 
sence : nor take not thy holy spirit from me. 

13 Restore unto me the joy of thy sal- 
vation : and strengthen me with a per- 
fect spirit. 

14 I will teach the unjust thy ways : and 
the wicked shall be converted unto thee. 

15 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, 

God, thou God of my salvation : and 
my tongue shall extol thy justice. 

16 Thou shalt open my lips, Lord • 
and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 

17 For if thou hadgt desired sacrifice, 

1 would surely have given it : with burnt 
oiferings thou wilt not be delighted. 

18 The sacrifice of God is an aflBicted 
spirit : a contrite and humble heart, 
God, thou wilt not despise. 

19 Deal favorably, Lord, in thy good 



MISERERE 



^15 



rt'ill with Sion : that the walls of Jerusa- 
lem may be bailt up. 

20 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice 
of justice, oblations, and whole burnt- 
olferings : then shall they lay calves upon 
thine altars. 

Glory, &c. 



A PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX. 

By a decree of April 10, 1821, Pius YIL, renew- 
ing a concession already made by Clement VII. and 
Benedict XIY., granted in perpetuity a plenary in- 
dulgence, which may deliver a soul from purgatory, 
to all who, with sincere contrtion, having confessed 
their sins and received the Holy Communion, should 
say devoutly the following prayer, in any language, 
before a figure of our crucified Saviour. 

Behold me, good and most sweet Jesus ! 
prostrate in Thy presence : I pray with the 
utmost fervor of my soul, and conjure Thee 
that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart 
lively sentiments of Faith, Hope and Charity; 
a true sorrow for my sins, and a most firm re- 
resolution, of amendment : whilst with all 
the affection of my soul, and with sincere com- 
passion, I consider and contemplate Thy five 
wounds, remembering that which Thy prophet 
David said of Thee, good Jesus! ''They 
have pierced my hands and my feet, they have 
numbered all my bones." (Ps. xxi. It, 18). 



216 COMPLAINT OF THE B. VIRGIN MART. 



THE COMPLAINT OF THE B. VIRGIN MAUI 

At the Cross her station keeping, 
Stood the mournful mother weepings 

Close to Jesus to the last : 
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, 
All His bitter anguish bearing, 

Now at length the sword had pass'd. 

Oh, how sad and sore distrest 
Was that Mother highly Blest 

Of the sole begotten One ! 
Christ above in torment hangs : 
She beneath beholds the pangs 

Of her dying glorious Son. 

Is there one who would not weep, 
Whelm'd in miseries so deep, 

Christ's dear Mother to behold? 
Can the human he^rt refrain 
From partaking in her pain, — 

In that Mother's pain untold ? 

Braised, derided, cursed, defiled, 
She beheld her tender Child 

All with bloody scourges rent ; 
For the sins of His own nation 
Saw Him hang in desolation, 

Till His spirit forth he sent. 

O thou Mother ! Fount of love ? 
Touch my spirit from above. 

Make my heart with thine accord 
Make me feel as thou hast felt ; 
Make my soul to glow and melt 

With the love of Christ my Lord f 



COMPLAINT OF THE B. VIRGIN MARY 



Holy Mother ! pierce me through ; 
In my heart each wound renew 

Of my Saviour crucified : 
Let me share with thee His pain, 
Who for all my sins was slain, 

Who for me in torments died ! 

Let me mingle tears with thee, 
Mourning Him who mourn'd for me, 

All the days that I may live : 
By the Cross with thee to stay, 
There with thee to weep and pray. 

Is all I ask of thee to give 

Virgin of all vfrgins best ! 
Listen to my fond request . 

Let me share thy grief divine ; 
Let me, to my latest breath. 
In my body bear the death 

Of that dying Son of thine ! 

Wounded with his ev^ry wound. 
Steep my soul till it hath swoon'd 

In His very Blood away ; 
Be to me, Virgin, nigh, 
Lest in flames I burn and die. 

In His awful Judgment day ! 

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence^ 

Be thy Mother my defence, 

Be thy Cross my victory ; 
While my body here decays, 
May my soul thy goodness praise. 

Safe in Paradise with Thee I 

^ In all our tribulation and distrtss, 

p. Succor us, most blessed Virgin Mary. 



218 THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET, 

ON 

THE PASSION OF OUR BLESSED REDEEMER, 
JESUS CHRIST 



APPROBATIONS. 

These pious prayers, so much esteemed by devout 
persons, and divers times printed in Rome, Venice, 
and almost in all places of Italy, Spain, France, 
and the Low Countries, in the several language;?, 
for the comfort of those who desire to be partakei s 
of such spiritual graces and favors : v/herefore ( 
judge them fit to be printed. 
Douay, this 5th of July, 1653. 

Br. Angelus of St. Francis. 

Jubilate Lectour and Episcopal Censour of Books. 

To spealc the Language of Angels was the happy 
privilege of St. Bridget. Her ardent love of 
Jesus Christ Crucified moved her to make a 
painful pilgrimage to Palestine, where she watered 
with her pious tears the chief places which Christ 
had sanctified by his divine Steps, and purpled 
with his adorable Blood.. 

PRAYER I. 

Jesus Christ ! eternal Sweetness of 
tliem that love thee, delight that exce^d- 
cst all joy and all desire, Saviour and 
lover of sinners, who hast declared that 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 219 

thy delight is to be with, the sons of men. 
for man^s sake, becoming man in the end 
of times. Remember all thy premedita- 
tion and inward grief, which in thy hu- 
man body thou endurest as the time of 
thy most saving Passion, drew near, that 
was preordained in thy divine Heart. 

Remember the sadness and bitterness 
which, by thy own testimony, thou hadst 
in thy soul, when at the last Supper thou 
gavest to thy disciples thy own Body and 
Blood, washedst their feet, and, in sweetly 
consoling them, foretoldest thy impend- 
ing Passion. 

Remember all the fear, anguish, and 
sorrow which thou sufferedst in thy ten- 
der Body before thy Passion on the Cross, 
when, after thy thrice uttered prayer and 
Bloody Sweat, thou w^ert betrayed by thy 
disciple Judas, taken by thy chosen peo- 
ple, accused by false witne^es, judged 
unjustly by three judges, condemned, 
though innocent ; in the chosen city, i\\ 
the paschal season, in the prime of man- 
hood, stripped of thy own garment, and 
arrayed in the garments of others ; wert 
buffeted, hadst thy Eyes and Face blind 
folded, wast struck, bound to a pillar 



2^i) THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 

scourged, crowned Avith thorns, struck 
on the Head with a reed, and assailed 
with numberless other insults. 

Grant me, I beseech thee, Lord God, 
in memory of these thy sufferings that 
preceded thy Passion on the Cross, true 
contrition before my death, full confes- 
sion, meet satisfaction, and the remission 
of all my sins. Amen. Our Father. 
Hail Mary. 

PRAYER II. 

Jesus, Maker of the world, whom 
no measure can truly me, who enclosest 
the earth in the hollow of the hand ; re- 
member the most bitter grief which thou 
sustainedst when the Jews first fastened 
io the Cross thy most holy Hands with 
blunted nails ; and in order to . drive 
them through thy most tender Feet, when 
thou wert not conformable to their will, 
added to thy Wounds pain upon pain, 
and so cruelly dragged thee apart, and 
stretched thee on the length and breadth 
of the Cross, as to loosen the joints of 
thy Limbs. 

1 pray thee, by the memory of thy most 
sacred and bitter agony on the Cross, to 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 



221 



gi-ant me thy fear and love. Amen.* 
Our Father, Hail Mary. 

PRAYER III. 

Jesus, heavenly Physician, remem- 
oer the languor, tlie bruises, and the 
agony, ^whi eh, when raised upon the lofty 
gibbet of the Cross, thou sufferedst in all 
thy torn Limbs, not one of which had 
remained in its own proper state, so that 
no sorrow was ever found like thy sor- 
row ; for from the sole of the foot to the 
top of the head there was no soundness 
in thee ; and yet, regardless of all thy 
pains, thou lovingly prayedst thy Father 
for thy enemies, in saying : Father for- 
give them, for they know not what 
they do! 

By this mercy, and in remembrance of 
that agony, grant that this memory of 
thy most bitter Passion may be the ful 
remission of all my sins. Amen. Out 
Father. Hail Mary. 

PRAYER IV. 

Jesus ! true freedom of Angels, par- 
•^dise of delights, remember the grief and 



222 THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 

horror thou endurest, when all thy ene 
mies stood around thee, like fiercest lions, 
and tormented thee with buffetings, spit- 
tings, scratchings, and all thy other un- 
told pains. 

By those pains, and by all the insult- 
ing words and cruel torments with which, 
Lord Jesus Christ, all thy enemies 
afflicted thee, deliver me, I pray thee, 
from all my visible enemies, ; and grant 
me under the shadow of thy wings to 
attain the completion of my eternal sal- 
vation. Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary. 



PRAYER y. 

Jesus! mirror of eternal love, re- 
member the sorrow which thou hadst, 
when in the mirror of thy most serene 
majesty thou beheldest the predestina- 
tion of the Elect, who are saved by the 
merits of thy Passion ; and the repro 
bation of the wicked, who are to Ije 
damned by their own demerits ; and the 
infinite depth of thy mercy, with which 
thou then condoledst with us lost and des- 
perate sinners, and which thou display 
edst to the thief on the cross, in saying 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 223 



This day thou shalt be with me in Para- 
dise ; I pray thee, Jesus, shew mercy 
to me in the hour of my death. Amen. 
Our Father, Hail Mary. 

PRAYER VI. 

King, my Beloved and Friend, who 
art all lovely, remember that sorrow 
which thou hadst when thou hang- 
edst naked and miserable on ^^^he Cross, 
and when all thy friends and acquaint- 
ance stood against thee, and when thou 
foundest none to comfort thee, save thy 
beloved Mother alone, who, in the bitter- 
ness of her soul, most faithfully stood by 
thee, and whom thou commendedst to 
thy disciple, saying, Mother, behold thy 
Son! 

1 pray thee, most loving Jesus, by the 
sword of sorrow which then pierced 
through her soul, to compassionate me 
in all my troubles and aflBictions, cor- 
poral and spiritual, and to give me con- 
solation in the time of trouble and in the 
hour of my death. Amen. Our Father, 
Hail Mary, 



224 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 



PRAYER YII. 

Jesus! the Fountain of inexhausti- 
ble love, who of thy inmost affection 
saidst upon the Cross, I thirst, namely, 
or the salvation of mankind ; inflame, I 
beseech thee, the desires of our hearts to 
every perfect work, and utterly dry up 
and extinguish within us the thirst of 
concupiscence and the heat of worldly 
pleasure. Amen. Our Father. Haii 
Mary. 

PRAYER VIII. 

Jesus ! the Sweetness of hearts and 
the exceeding delight of souls, by the 
bitterness of the vinegar and the gall 
which thou tastedst for us, vouchsafe to 
us at the hour of our death worthily to 
receive thy Body and Blood, for the 
medicine and comfort of our souls. Amen. 
Our Father. Hail Mary. 

PRAYER IX. 

Jesus ! kingly in might, and triumph 
of the soul, remember the anguish and 
sorrow that thou sufferedst, when, be- 
cause of the bitterness of death, and tho 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 225 

iiisuliing of the Jews, thou criedst with 
a loud voice that thou wast forsaken by 
thy Father, in saying. My God, My God, 
why hast thou forsaken me? By this 
anguish, I pray thee not to forsake us in 
our anguish, Lord, our God. Amen. 
Our Father. Hail Mary, 

PRAYER X. 

Jesus, Alpha and Omega, our life 
and strength at all times ! remember that 
from the top of thy head to the sole of 
thy foot thou sankest thyself for us in the 
water of thy Passion. 

For thy Wound^s sake, that were so 
long and so broad, teacli me, that am 
deeply sunk in sins, to keep, by true 
charity, thy broad commandment. Amen. 
Our Father, Hail Mary, 

PRAYER XI. 

Jesus! most deep abyss of mercy, 
I pray thee, by the depth of thy Wounds, 
which passed through thy heart and the 
marrow of thy bones, to drag me out, 
sunken as I am in sins, and hide me in 
the holes of thy Wounds from the face 



226 THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 



of thy anger, till thy wratli, Lord, 
pass away. Amen. Our Father, Han 
Mai^y. 

PRATEY XII. 

Jesus ! the Mirror of truth, the Seal 
of unity, and the Bond of charity, re- 
member the countless number of thy 
Wounds, with which thou wert wounded 
from the top of thy head to the sole of 
thy foot, and the greatness of the anguish, 
which, reddened with thy most holy Blood, 
thou enduredst for us in thy virgin Flesli ; 
loving Jesus, what is there that thou 
oughtest to do more for us that thou hast 
not done? 

Write, loving Jesus ! I beseech thee, 
in my heart, all thy Wounds with thy 
most precious Blood, that, reading in 
them thy sorrow and thy death, I may 
persevere in thanksgiving constantly tx3 
the end. Amen. Our Father. Hai 
Mary, 

PRAY'ER XIII. 

Jesus ! most strong Lion, immortaJ 
and invincible King, remember the agony 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGE?. 



221 



w^liict ^hou sufferedst when all the pow^ 
ers oi thy heart and body utterly failed 
thee, ^uid bowing thy head thou saidst, It 
is consummated ! 

By this anguish and sorrow, have 
mercy on me in the final consummation 
of my departure, when my soul is in an- 
guish and my sprit troubled. Amen, 
Our Father. Hail Mary. 

PRAYER XIY. 

Jesus ! Only-begotten of the Father 
Alost High, Splendour and figure of his 
Mubstance, remember the earnest commen- 
flation with which thou commendedst thy 
spirit to the Father, in saying. Father, 
into thy hands I commend my spirit : 
and with torn body and broken heart, 
when the bowels of thy mercy were 
opened for our redemption, didst expire 
with a great cry. 

By this thy most precious Death, I be- 
seech thee, King of saints, strengthen 
me to resist flesh and blood, the devil 
and the world, that, being dead to the 
world, I may live to thee : and m my de^- 
parture's last hour receive my spirit, re- 



228 THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 



tnriring as an exile and a pilgrim to thee 
Amen. Our Father Hail Mary, 

PRAYER XY. 

Jesus! the true and fruitful Vine, 
remember the OYerflowing and abundant 
shedding of tliY Blood, which thou pour- 
odst out as plentifully as though it Tvere 
pressed out of a cluster of grapes, ^vhen 
upon the Cross thou troddest the wine- 
press alone, and from thy side pierced by 
the soldier's lance, gaYest us to drink 
Blood and Water, so that there remained 
in thee not the least drop, and wert at 
last suspended on high like a bundle of 
myrrh, and thy delicate flesh shrunk 
away, and the moisture of thy bowels 
was dried up, and the marrow of thy 
bones was wasted away. 

By this most bitter Passion, and out- 
pouring of thy most precious Blood, 
loYing Jesus, I pray thee, receiYC my soul 
in the agony of death. Amen. Ovi 
Father. Hail Mary, 

. COXCLUSIOX. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the liYiug 
God! in that ^^urpassing loYe, in which 



THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET 229 



thou enduredst all the wounds of thy 
most holy body, receive this prayer, and 
have mercy on me thy servant, and on 
all sinners ; and to all the faithful, both 
living and dead, give mercy, grace, re 
mission of sins, and eternal life. Amen, 



PRAYER ON THE SEVERAL POINTS OF THE 
PASSION. 

God, who for the redemption of the 
world wert willing to be born, circum- 
cised, rejected, by the Jews, betrayed 
by the traitor Judas with a kiss, bound 
in chains, led as an innocent lamb to the 
sacrifice, and shamefully exposed before 
Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod, ac- 
cused by false witnesses, tormented with 
scourging and insult, spit upon, crowned 
with thorns, buffeted, struck with a reed, 
blindfolded, stripped of thy garments, fast- 
ened to a Cross with nails, lifted up on a 
Cross, reckoned among robbers, given 
gall and vinegar to drink, and wounded 
with a lance! By these thy most holy 
sufferings, Lord, which I unworthily 
commemorate, and by thy holy Cross and 
Death, deliver me from the pains of hell, 



830 THE PRAYERS OF ST. BRIDGET. 

and Touclisafe to conduct me whither 
thou hast conducted the thief that was 
crucified with thee. Who, with the Fa- 
ther and the Holy Ghost, livest and 
reignest for ever and ever. Amen. 

A MOST DEYOUT PRAYER BEFORE THE 
CROSS OF OUR LORD. 

Most good and gracious Christ Josus, 
behold, I have recourse to thee ; to thee, 

loving Jesus, I return ; but I blush 
with the deepest shame and confusion 
when I look upon those wounds of thine, 
when I see that crown of thorns, and 
learn that it is for me that thou hast 
suffered it all. I indeed it was who in- 
flicted on thee all those dreadful wounds ; 

1 pressed down that crown of thorns 
upon thy sacred Head ; I fastened thee 
upon that Cross. 

But, oh, the greatness of thy charity, 
clemency, and mercy ! It is I that have 
sinned, and it is thou that art tortured, 
and payest for me this penalty of the 
death which I deserve. It is I who have 
been thyself thy enemy, but by thy Cross 
thou makest me thy son. It is I wh^^ 



THE PRAYEKS OF ST. BRIDGET. 231 

have been a slave, hut thou, by thy Blood, 
proclaim-est lue free. 

Oh, if once thou wouldst permit me to 
be all on fii^e with thy love, then would I 
most cheerfully devote to thee my very life, 
for I owe thee myself and my all ! Amen. 



HOURLY ASPIRATION 

TO JESUS FOR A HAPPY DEATH. 

Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in 
death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have 
prevailed against him. 

Be thou to me a God, a protector, and a 
house of refuge, to save me. 

My soul hath thirsted for the strong living 
God ; when shall I come and appear before 
the face of God ? 

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this 
will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house 
of the Lord all the days of my life. 

Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right 
land; for thy Name's sake, Lord, thou wilt 
quicken me in thy justice. 
clement, pious, sweet Yirgin Mary! 
Jesus! Mary! Joseph! be always in my heart 
Jesus! Mary! Joseph! be always in my 

thoughts. 

Jesus ! Mary I Joseph ! my last thought, my 
last sigh. 



232 



THE STATIONS FOR 



^hthns for f olg f lursifas 



STATIONS OF THE PASSIOX. 

Jesus Christ is dead, and fo-r us; it is 
to effect our redemption that he is dead. 
It is, then, very just and very proper to 
recall often to our minds the mysteries of 
his passion and death, and to meditate on 
what he suffered for us; this we can suc- 
cessfully do by placing before our eyes 
the different Stations of the Passion, 
which are seven in number. It is for this 
purpose that we subjoin these stations, 
which may be read every Friday, and 
particularly the two last Fridays of Lent. 
This will be found a most excellent prac- 
tice, for the devotion to Christ^s Passion 
has ever been regarded as that of the 
elect. 



FIRST STATION. 

JESUS IN THi: GARDEN OF OLIVES. 



O Jesus, my Saviour ! who didst sweat 
blood and water in the Garden of Geth 



HOLY THURSDAY. 



283 



Bemani, at sight of thy torments and my 
sins, and who wast pleased to divest thy- 
self of strength to clothe thyself with our 
infirmity, so that an angel was sent from 
heaven to strengthen thee, I adore thee, 
bathed in thine own blood : I humbly 
thank thee for having deigned to suffer 
so much for me. I detest all the sins 
that have caused thee so fearful an 
agony, and I am resolved rather to die 
than ever to renew thy interior Passion. 
Grant me grace to conceive so great a 
horror of my sins, that I may hencefor- 
ward resist, even at the risk of my life, 
the temptations of the devil, the world, 
and the flesh, and that I may conform in 
all things to thy holy will, as thou didst 
conform to that of thy heavenly Father. 
Amen. 

SECOND STATION. 

JESUS BEFORE ANNAS ANT) OAIAPHAS. 

Divine Jesus, who, taken first before 
Annas, and interrogated by him on thy 
doctrine, didst receive with such admir- 
able meekness a heavy blow from a vile 
menial: who, afterwards, taken before 
Caiaphas, was loaded with opprobrium 



234 



THE STATIONS FOR 



in presence of that haughty ])ontiff by 
the Scribes and Ancients of the people, 
for having declared thyself the Son of 
God, and that thou shouldst one day 
judge the living and the dead, as the 
Son of man, I compassionate the outrages 
then inflicted on thee, and I deplore the 
blindness of Caiaphas, who, from the of- 
fice he held was bound to examine the 
truth of the charges brought against thee. 
a.nd yet, far from being thy defender, 
decreed thee worthy of death. I cast 
myself at thy feet, my Judge and my 
King, to ask pardon for having so oftei> 
buffetted and insulted thee, not only in 
thine own person by my enormous sins, 
but also in that of my neighbor, since 
thou dost consider as done to thyself the 
evil done to him. I resolve henceforth 
to suffer, for thy sake, all the injuries I 
may receive, and never more to offend 
thee in the person of my brethren, by 
word or action, by anger or revenge. 

THIRD STATION. 

JESUS BEFORE ?1LATE AND HEROD. 

Thanks be to thee, sweet Jesus, who 
placed at the tribunals of Pilate and He- 



HOLY THURSDAY. 



235 



rod, interrogated by those pagan judges, 
didst return no answer to all the calum- 
nies and accusations brought against thee, 
but didst stand silent and submissive like 
a lamb in the hands of the shearer. Be- 
fore one thou couldst have manifested thy 
royalty, and made him sensible of the 
truth, before the other thou couldst have 
done miracles which would have com- 
manded his respect and hindered him 
from treating thee as a fool, and clothing 
thee in a white garment by way of deri- 
sion. Grant me grace to restrain my 
tongue and to bear patiently with slan- 
der and contumely. May I suffer them 
without a murmur, as thou didst suffer 
to be despised by Herod and all his court, 
and to bo placed on a par, by Pilate, with 
a seditious robber and murderer. Give 
me strength to resist the persecution of 
my enemies, so that, according to thy 
principles, I may possess my soul in pa- 
tience, that I may thus gain over thos^ 
who do me wrong, and that, finally, re- 
ceiving all with thanksgiving, I may 
Bolely refer all to the greater glory of 
thy holy name. Amen. 



236 



lOE STATIONS FOR 



FOURTH STATION. 

JESUS SCOURGED IN PIIu^TE'S HALL 

O Jesus! innocent victim, nourished 
and, as it were, filled with patience, I 
adore thee fastened to the pillar to be 
scourged, and offering to thy heavenly 
Father the blood thou art about to shed 
during that cruel torture. My heart is 
the more touched by the pitiable state to 
which thou art reduced, because it was 1 
who struck thee by the hands of those 
merciless executioners, who have torn 
and mangled thy flesh. I hear thy voice 
in the depth of my heart, saying : My 
child, thou sinful soul, I have suffered 
these countless blows, this cruel scourg- 
ing, for thy impurities and criminal li- 
berties, to expiate thy inordinate love 
of thy flesh, thy sensuality, thy immodesty, 
thy self-indulgence. It is for thee that I 
have suffered such deep wounds. Ah! 
Lord, I confess my fault, and I beseech 
thee, through thy sorrows, to sanctify 
my soul and body, to wash both in thy 
precious blood, and never suffer them to 
be defiled by sin. Heal my wounds bj 
thine, and as thou didst consent to be 
stripped of thy garments and tied naked 



HOLY THURSDAY. 



231 



to a pillar, strip me of the old man and 
tiis criminal works, to clothe me anew in 
the robe of holiness and justice." 

FIFTH STATION. 

JESUS ASCENDING MOUNT CAIVAIIT". 

Jesus, the greatest of all kings, who, 
after being crowned with thorns, but not 
yet satiated with torments or oppro- 
brium, although wholly exhausted of 
strength, wouldst still bear to Mount 
Calvary the Cross on which thou wert 
to die, I adore thee in this stage of thy 
passion. I kiss, in spirit, the prints of 
thy sacred feet, and am amazed when I 
think of all thou wert pleased to endure 
on that painful journey, that strange 
journey which thou didst undertake for 
me; the insupportable burden thou hadst 
to bear, and the extreme weakness of thy 
body, already enfeebled by so many suf- 
ferings. Grant me grace to embrace 
courageously all the crosses which it 
may please thy providence to send me : 
and since thou invitest me to come to 
thee, to renounce myself and bear my 
cross, give me strength to accomplish 
wliat thou commandest, and grace to 



238 



THE STATIONS FOR 



rofit by the advice tliou gavest to the 
oly women, to weep for themselves and 
their children rather than for thee. Oh 
that I may weep with them, but for tlie 
hardness of my heart and the ingratitude 
of my crimes, which are the true cause 
of thy sufferings. 

SIXTH STATION. 

JESUS ON THE CROSS. 

This, my Redeemer and my God ! 
this is the most painful of the Stations 
of thy Passion, and it is also the most 
ignominious. This is the Station of 
death ; the others were but transient, 
but this is permanent ; there thou re- 
mainest, there thou breathest, there thou 
consummatest the sacrifice. This, then, is 
the grand proof of thy love for men ; it 
is not the nails which have fastened thee 
to that infamous gibbet, but thy tender 
charity for us, thy enemies. I love thee, 
I adore thee, I attach myself to thee foi 
ever, my divine Redeemer ! and I be- 
seech thee to accomplish thy word in me 
by drawing me so to thee, tliat, being 
detached from all things here bel av, I 
may think only of suffering with thee 



HOLY THURSDAY. 



239 



nail lying with thee on the cross. 
Jesus, my life, who didst die for me ! 
immaculate Lamb, sacrificed for my sal- 
vation ! victim of love and patience, who 
couldst, if thou wouldst, have descended 
from the cross in spite of thine execu- 
tioners, secure me in virtue : that I may 
rather lose my life than crucify thee in 
my heart. Into thy hands I commend 
my spirit, and since thou, by thy death, 
didst open to me tlie way to Pardise, 
establish me in that happy abode of the 
blessed, and then I shall never more fear 
to leave thee or to lose thee. 

SEVENTH STATION. 

JESUS IN THE TOMB. 

After so many torments, my Saviour, 
It was time to enter upon thy rest. The 
innocence of thy life, and still more the 
divinity of thy person required an ho- 
norable burial, a glorious tomb, a quiet 
and peaceful dwelling. And this they 
give thee, Lord, after embalming thy 
body, which is placed in a new sepul- 
chre : virgin hands perform that kind 
office ; the angels of peace are assiduous 
in their attention, and thy faithful ser- 



240 THE STATIONS FOR HOLY THURSDAY. 

rants, who were present in spirit at thy 
tomb, are not slow to offer thee in per- 
son tlie homage of their joy and affcc 
tion ; bury with thyself, if thou wilt 
all my senses and all my desires , en- 
shroud me as it were with thy precious 
merits, and embalm me with the sweet 
perfume of thy holy death and thy inef- 
fable virtues. Hide me in the Avound 
made in thy heart by the spear, that it 
may serve me as a tomb richer than any 
marble. There, inaccessible to all the 
seductions of this world, I will live as a 
stranger on the earth, till that happy time 
when I can enjoy the fruition of thy bless- 
ed sight in my celestial home. Amen. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 

Look upon his "Wounds made in hanging 
for us; his Blood shed in dying for us; the 
price he paid to redeem us. His Head he 
bows to kiss us; his Heart happens to love 
us; his Arms he stretches out to embrace us; 
his whole Body he exposes to redeem us! 
Think hov7 great are these things: weigh them 
in the balance of thy heart, that he may be 
all fixed within thy heart, who, for thee, was 
all fixed upon the Cross, 



A TWOFOLD ROSARY OF OUR LORD. 241 



A TWOFOLD ROSARY OF OUR LORD JESUS 
CHRIST. 

WTiich may be said either in honor of the seven 
Blood-sheddings of Jesus Christ, or in honor of 
his five sacred Wounds. 

The first Rosaiy has seven decades : 

It is to be said thus : 
Be<?in with the Apostles' Creed, I believe, S^c. 

At each decade say once the Lord's Prayer, and 
the following salutation ten times, with the varia- 
tion only of the mystery of the Blood-shedding in 
each decade : * 

Hail, most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, full 
of grace, there is mercy with thee. Blessed 
be thy most holy Life, Passion, and Death, 
and blessed be thy Blood which thou hast 
shed for us, &c. 

At each salutation, after shed for its, add : 
To decade I. In thy circumcision. 
II. In thy agony. 
III. In thy scourging. 
lY. In thy crowning with thorns. 
Y. In the stripping of thy garments. 
YI. In thy crucifixion. 
YII. In the opening of thy side. 

At the end of every decade, or last salutation, 
Eubjoin the following aspiration to the most blessed 
Virgin Mary. 



242 



A TWOFOLD ROSARY OF 



Holy Mary, sorrowful Mother, by the 
sword of sorrow which pierced thy soul, ob- 
tain for us the fruit of the Blood of Jcsu3 
Christ thy Sou, now and in the hour of our 
death. Amen. 

The recital of this Rosary may be seasoned with 
various pious affections, applications, and intentions. 
Each decade for instance, may be directed severally, 
either against the seven capital sins, or to the imi- 
tation of the seven principal virtues of Christ, as 
example. 

Decade I. For Christ's humility. 
II. For his meekness. 
III. For his patience. 
lY. For his obedience. 
Y. For his goodness. 
YI. For his charity. 
YII. For his bounty. 

And for this purpose an epithet suited to recall 
.he memory of those virtues may be added to the 
oeginning of the salutation in every decade : as, 

1. Hail, most humble. 

2. Most meek. 

3. Most patient. 

4. Most ftbedient. 

5. Most gracious. 

6. Most loving. 

7. Most bountiful Lord Jesus Christ, &c. 

This Rosary may be said also for the seven gifts 
of the Holy Spirit, or for the seven benefits cou" 



OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 243 



tained in the Lord's Prayer. Also, since it is by 
the Blood of Christ that the seven Sacraments have 
each their own efiBcacy, this Rosary may be offered 
for obtaining the saving use of the Sacraments for 
each of their recipients. Thus, 

Decade I. For the baptised, 

II. For the confirmed, 

III. For penitents, 
lY. For communicants, 

Y. For the ordained, 

YI. For the married, 

YII. For the dying. 

Tfee second Rosary, relating to Christ's most sa- 
cred Wounds, has five decades, to be repeated aa 
l>efore. 

To each salutation, again, after shed for us, add : 

To decade I. From the wound in thy right foot. 
II. From the wound in thy left foot. 
III. From the wound in thy right 
hand. 

lY. From the wound in thy left hand. 
Y. From the wound in thy heart. 

At the end of each decade add the aspiration to 
the most holy Virgin, Holy Mary, S^c, as above. 

Here, then, you have a method most easy and use- 
ful to man, and most pleasing to God, of commemo- 
rating daily the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Mysteries of which are thus readily recalled tc 
the memory. 



244 



SKVEX THANKSGIVINGS. 



SEVEN THAMSGIVmGS 

M RELATION TO THE SEVEN BLOOD-SHEDDLVGS OP 
JESUS CHllIST. 

AGAINST THE SEVEN CAPITAL SINS. 

I. 

most humble Lord and Master, Jesus 
Christ, true God aud man ! to thee be eternal 
praise and thanksgiving, because in thy ten- 
der age, namely, on the eighth day of thy 
mortal life, it was thy will to shed for us thy 
precious and innocent Blood ; and, like a true 
son of Abraham, to bear the pain of Cir- 
cumcision. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, I 
implore of thee the grace of humilty, against 
all pride and worldly vanity. Our Father, 
Hail Mary. 

II. 

loving Pelican, Jesus Christ, true God 
and man! to thee be eternal pra>,se and thanks- 
giving, because in the garden, out of the ex- 
ceeding anguish of thy Heart, thou pouredst 
forth a Bloody Sweat, and offeredst it to thy 
Father with the most ready resignation of one 
who was to die for us. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, I 
Iniplore of thee the grace of bountifulness, 



SEVEN THANKSGIVINGS. 



245 



against all cupidity and avarice. Our Fa- 
ther, Hail Mary. 

III. 

O most chaste Spouse, Jesus Christ, true 
God and man! to thee be eternal praise and 
thanksgiving, because, in the hall of Pilate, 
thou sufiferedst thyself to be mercilessly bound, 
and thy virgin flesh to be most cruelly scourg- 
ed and torn. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, J 
implore of thee the grace of chastity, against 
all sensuality and lust. Ov^r Father. Hail 
Mary. 

IV. 

O most meek Lamb, Jesus Christ, true God 
and man! to thee be eternal praise and thanks- 
giving, because thou sufferedst thy sacred 
Head to be crowned with sharpest thorns, 
and to be struck from above with a hard reed. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, 1 
beg of thee the grace of meekness, against 
all anger and desire of revenge. Our Fa- 
ther. Hail Mary. 

V. 

O most sweet and abstemious of guests, 
Jesus Christ, true God and man! to thee be 
eternal praise and thanksgiving, for the strip- 
ping of thy garments, w^hich thou sufferedst 
both before and after the carrying of the 



S46 



SEVEN THANKSGIVINGS. 



Cross, not without the most painfa] renewal 
and aggravation of thy Wounds. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, 
I beseech of thee the grace of sobriety and 
abstinence, against all gluttony and surfeit- 
ing. Our Father, Hail Mary. 

VI. 

most good and faithful Samaritan, Jesus 
Christ, true God and man ! to thee be eter- 
nal praise and thanksgiving, because in thy 
burning love for us thou offeredst for our re- 
demption thy most holy Hands and Feet, tc 
be horribly dug into and fastened to the wood 
of the Cross. 

By this most holy shedding of thy Blood, 
I beg earnestly the grace of brotherly charity, 
against all envy and jealousy. Our Fatlwr, 
Hail Mary. 

VII. 

O most zealous High Priest, Jesus Christy 
true God and man ! to thee be eternal praise 
and thanksgiving, because thou sufferedst 
thy sacred Side to be pierced, laid open, and 
wounded. 

By this most sacred shedding of thy Blood, 
I humbly ask of thee the grace of holy fer- 
vor and zeal, against all slothfulness and 
torpor in thy service, and in all exercises of 
oiety Our Father. Hail Mary. 



PRAYERS ON THE FIVE WOUNDS OF OUB 
LORD. 

most lovely Redeemer of my soul^ 
prostrate before thee on the Cross, my 
conscience reproaches me witi] having by 
my own hands transfixed thee to that 
Cross as often as I have committed griev- 
ous sin, displeasing thee by my monstrous 
ingratitude. my God. my most perfect 
and sovereign good, and worthy of all 
my affections as my constant benefactor 
I, miserable that I am, cannot undo my 
evil deeds as I would, but with deep sor- 
row I ablior them as having offended 
thine infinite goodness, and kneeling at 
thy feet, I will at least endeavor to 
compassionate thee, to thank thee, to 
implore of thee pardon and amendment 
of life ; and with my heart on my lips, I 
thus say : — 

Lt»nl Jesus Christ, I most humbly 
ddore ilie most sacred wound in thy left 
FOOT. 1 give thee thanks for that cruel 
pain, suffered with so much love and 



248 



PRAYERS ON THE 



charity. I condole with thee in thy 
torments, and with thy most afflicted 
Mother. I humbly beg pardon for all 
my sins, which I lament more than all 
imaginable evils, because they offend 
thee, infinite goodness! And I re* 
solve never more to sin. ! bring with 
me al I sinners to a true conversion, and 
give Chem light to discover the heinous- 
ness and the enormity of a mortal sin. 

Our Father, &c. Hail, Mary, &c. Glory, &c. 



Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly adore 
the most sacred wound in thy right foot. 
I give thee thanks for that cruel pain, 
endured with so much love and charity. 
I condole with thee in thy torments, and 
with thy most afflicted Mother. Gcant 
me strength against all temptations^ and 
prompt obedience in the execution of thy 
Divine will. Comfort, Jesus, all poor 
miserable, afflicted, tempted, and perse 
cuted persons. Most just Judge, govern 
those who administer jastice, and assist 
all laborers in the care of souls, whether 
among Christians or Infidels. 

Our Father, &c. Hail, Mary, &c Glory, &c. 



FIVE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD 249 

Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly adore 
fche most sacred wound in thy left hand. 
I give thee thanks for that cruel pain 
endured v^^ith so much love and chaiity, 
I condole with thee in thy sufferings, and 
with thy most afflicted Mother. Delive. 
me from the pains of hell, and grant me 
patience and conformity to thy blessed 
will in all the adversities of this life. I 
offer unto thee all my exterior and inte- 
rior sufferings, in satisfaction for my sins, 
which have so often deserved eternal 
torments. Pardon all my enemies, and 
others ill-affected towards me. Bless 
the sick with patience and health ; and 
support, with thy assisting grace, all who 
are in their agony, that they may not perish. 

Our Father, &<j. 



Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly adore 
the most sacred wound in thy eight 
HAND. I give thee thanks for that cruel 
pain, endured for me with so much love 
and charity. I condole with thee in thy 
torments, and with thy most afflicted 
Mother. Grant me a firm and resolaite 
will in all things relating to my salva- 
tion. Bless me with the grace of final 



250 



PRAYERS ON THE 



perseverance, to secure the eDjoyment ol 
that glory which was purchased with the 
price of thy most precious blood. Grant 
likewise, Jesus, peace and relief to the 
Bouls in purgatory ; and daily advance thy 
holy servants in this- world, in the paths 
of virtue and perfection (especially those 
who are of this confraternity.) 

Our Father, &c. 



Lord Jesus Christ, I most humbly 
adore the sacred wound in thy blessed 
SIDE. I give thee thanks for the exceed- 
ing love manifested towards us at the 
opening of thy sacred heart. Grant me 
a pure and perfect charity, that loving 
thee above all things, and all things for 
thy sake, my soul may breathe its last in 
the purest sentiments of divine love. I 
humbly beg of thee, Jesus, to protect 
thy holy Catholic Church, to direct thy 
governing Vicar, upon earth, and all ec- 
clesiastical orders and pious persons who 
are instrumental in bringing souls to 
their duty. Preserve in thy holy service 
all Christian kings and princes. Bring 
back into the way of salvation all thos6 



FIVE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD. 251 

who have gone astray, whether through 
Dialice or ignorance. Subject unto thy 
sacred yoke all infidels, heretics, and all 
the enemies of thy holy Name. 

Oiir Father, &c. 



Let us pray. 

God, who for the redemption of 
mankind didst vouchsafe to be born, to 
be circumcised, to be rejected by the 
Jews, to be betrayed by a kiss, to be fet- 
tered like a malefactor, and like an inno- 
cent lamb to be led to slaughter, to be 
^nominiously brought before Annas, Cai- 
aphas, Pilate, and Herod, to be accused 
by false witnesses, to be scourged with 
whips, buffeted, defiled with spittle, 
crowned with thorns, stripped of thy 
clothes, fastened to a cross, placed be- 
tween two thieves, and to taste of vine- 
gar and gall ; by these most grievous 
pains, which I, however unworthy, d^ 
commemorate, and by thy most sacred 
death and passion, deliver me from the 
pains of hell, and conduct me whither 
thy mercy did conduct the penitent thief, 
who was crucified with thee, who with 



PRAYERS ON THE 



the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest 
and reignest for ever. Amen. 

Lord Jesus Christ, God of my heart , 
by those five wounds, which thy love for 
us inflicted on thee, succor thy servants 
whom thou hast redeemed with thy pre- 
cious blood. Amen. 

Most merciful Redeemer ; by those in- 
eiffable torments, and the immense grief 
which thou wast pleased to suffer for me, 
a contemptible creature, especially when 
thy blessed soul was bitterly separated 
from thy body, I humbly beseech thee to 
secure my soul at the hour of its depar- 
ture, and comfort me then, as thou didst 
the penitent thief, with the blessed assu- 
rance that I shall be with thee in Para- 
dise. Amen. 

Let us say thrice the Our Father,' - and the 
Hail, Mary,'^ in memory of the three hours our 
Redeemer hung upon the cross, for the souls of the 
faithful departed in this congregation. " Our 
Father," &c. 

Let us say once the Our Father,'^ and the 
Hail, Mary," for such as are in the deplorable 
Btate of mortal sin. Our Father," &c. 

Let us likewise say once the Our Father," and 
the " Hail, Mary,'- for the person who is to die nexi 
la this congregation, that he may depart happily, 



FIVE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD. 25i5 

fortified with the holy sacraments of the Church. 
« Oar Father," <fec. 

Let us dispose ourselves, by acts of perfect con- 
trition, and pure love of God, to receive profitably 
the Benedicton of our Lord and Saviour, in the 
adorable Sacrament of the Altar. 

100 days indulgence daily to those who recite the 
•bove. To those who shall have recited them at 
least ten times a month, a Plenary indulgence twice 
a year, on the invocation of Holy Cross and Exaltar 
tlon of Holy Cross. 

O merciful Redeemer, and God of infi- 
nite patience ; great is my confusion at 
appearing in thy Divine presence, because 
I have so frequently preferred vile and 
contemptible creatures before thee, the 
Almighty Creator of the universe. 

I, who am but a miserable worm of 
the earth, do utterly detest my presump 
tion in sinning in thy most pure sight.. 
I acknowledge that I am a notorious 
criminal, and I plead guilty at the bar 
of thy dread tribunal. Thou mightest 
have been glorified in thy justice, by 
striking me suddenly dead, and con- 
demning me to eternal flames for base 
indignities offered to thee ; but thou wast 
pleased to be glorified in the high pre- 
rogative of thy mercy, by calling me 
back to repentance. I abhor all m? 



254 PRAYERS ON THE FIVE WOUNDS, ETC 



crimes of thought, word, and deed, not 
only for the fear of punishment, and the 
hope of reward, but likewise for thy own 
sake, and because thou dost abominate 
them infinitely. God of majesty and 
mercy, look upon the sacred marks in thy 
hands, feet, and side, which thou still re- 
tainest in thy glorified body, to plead in 
my behalf By that tender love which 
induced thee to create, redeem, and sanc- 
tify me, unite the abyss of thy merits to 
the abyss of my misery. Strengthen my 
weakness, confirm this my resolution of 
never offending thee more. 0, rather let 
me lose every thing, with life itself, than 
lose thy favor by mortal sin. My heart 
was created for thee, and I love thee 
more than myself. Every day of my life, 
and especially that on which I shall ex- 
pire, I will strive to love and serve thee 
for thy own sake, my GU^d and my Crea- 
tor. Saviour of perishing mankind, who 
openest thy hand, and fillest every crea 
ture with benediction, give me now such f 
blessing as thou didst bestow on thy be- 
loved disciples, when ascending in triumph 
from the mountain of Olives, that I may live 
and die in this happy disposition. Amen, 



ijTAinr OF OUR saviour's passion. 266 



LITANY OF OUR SAVIOTO'S PASSION, 

FOR FRIDAYS AND FOR LENT. 
By St. Augustin. 

I. dearest Jesus, so sorrowfully pray- 
ing to thy Father in the Garden, whilst 
trembling with agony, and covered with a j^^i 
sweat of blood ; have mercy on us. § 

II. dearest Jesus, betrayed by a trai- ^ 
tor's kiss into wicked hands, seized upon, 
and bound like a robber, and abandoned ^ 
by thy disciples ; have mercy on us. § 

III. dearest J esus, by the unjust coun- g 
cil of the Jews, found guilty of death, led 
to Pilate as a malefactor, spurned and 5 
mocked by unjust Herod ; have mercy on 
us. ^ 

TV. dearest J esus, stripped, of all thy ^ 
garments, and most cruelly scourged at the g 
pillar ; have mercy on us. ^ 

Y. dearest Jesus, crowned with thorns, ^ 
buffeted, smitten with a reed, blindfolded, * 
covered with a purple garment, derided in 8 
every way, and saturated with contempt: 
have mercy on us. 



E56 LITANY OF OUR SAVIOUR's PASSION. 



VI. dearest Jesus, less valued than i:^: 
the robber Barabbas, rejected by the Jews, | 
and unjustly condemned to the death of the 3 
cross ; have mercy on us. | 

VII. O dearest Jesus, laden with the ^ 
cross of wood, and led to thy place of i 
punishment like a lamb to slaughter ; have g 
mercy on us. 

VIII. dearest Jesus, ranked among 5 
thieves, blasphemed and derided, with gall 
and vinegar insulted in thy thirst, and from g- 
the sixth to the ninth hour left hanging on 
the cross in dreadful torment ; have mercy 2 
on us. g 

IX. dearest Jesus, extended lifeless on ^ 
the gibbet of the cross, in presence of thy ^ 
Holy Mother pierced with a lance, and 
shedding blood and water in one mingled 
stream ; have mercy on us. 

X. O dearest Jesus, taken down from 1, 
the cross, and by thy virgin Mother bathed § 
with tears of most bitter sorrow : have ^' 
mercy on us. 

XI. O dearest Jesus, shrouded with | 
Btripes, marked with five wounds, embalmed ^ 
with spices, and laid in the sepulchre; have 5 
mercy on us. 2 

V. Surely he hath borne our infirmities, I 

Let as pray, 

O God, &c., see p. 212 



Mi 

Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 

Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



